Book excerpt: The Complete Guide to Austin Treatments was inspired by parents of children afflicted with autism. After speaking with several thousands of parents about various treatments and answering similar questions over and over again, Dr. Freeman realized that parents need a clear way - a guide - to help make appropriate treatment decisions for their child. To this end, Dr. Freeman gives her scientific evaluation of most of the major and minor autism treatments available today, and then personalizes the analysis by telling the reader whether or not she would use the treatment on her own child. In other words, at the end of the day, how did she apply her understanding of the science to her own child? With this book, it is Dr. Freeman's sincere hope that everyone will be able to evaluate all the current and future autism treatments available. It is crucial to be able to ask the right questions and find the flaws in the science behind every purported treatment, or to find the evidence, where it exists, that the treatment is effective. At a minimum, understanding the scientific method will protect thousands of children from quackery and, hopefully, provide parents and professionals with the tools to discern those treatments that are effective for children affected with autism.