New Book Tells Parents of Children With Eating Disorders How To Save Their Children's Lives

Doctor and treatment clinic founder offers guidance so parents can take on the role that's required for the successful treatment of a child with anorexia, bulimia or other eating disorders.

Portland, OR - November 06, 2010 -- Give food a chance by Dr. Julie O'Toole is an alert for the medical profession - and especially for parents. Dr. O'Toole's work in pediatrics brought many youths with eating disorders to her. She quickly learned about the mistaken beliefs held by doctors and parents, and missteps which were further endangering the life of that child. Give food a chance places the facts out in front, so that all members of a patient's treatment team know and understand their roles.

This becomes an especially challenging situation for parents, in part due to the misguided and accusatory messages they receive. Dr. O'Toole writes that what parents see and what they are told separates them from what is actually happening. This keeps them from making the decisions they need to make and taking the actions that will save their child.

Parents have the ultimate power in making decisions for their children's well-being. Dr. O'Toole writes in Give food a chance (http://PerfSciPress.com/give-food-a-chance/) that the fear and lack of knowledge about eating disorders, and what they're seeing happen to their child, displaces that power with fear when they are in search of a quick answer to what they're observing. That's when either the blame game, victimization, or the refusal to listen to reason overtake logic and awareness.

Give food a chance tells parents how to balance listening to physicians with taking the needed proactive role in the treatment of their child with anorexia, bulimia or another eating disorder.

Dr. O'Toole explains that a child doesn't choose to be anorexic as a rebellious act. The long held belief that a child's home environment causes eating disorders is also discounted through a presentation of case studies and treatment stories.

Parents are made aware, through Dr. O'Toole's presentation in Give food a chance, that what's seen can't always be an accurate measurement of what a child with anorexia is actually doing. Along with weight loss, behaviors and symptoms can include an increase in exercise, fainting, avoiding previously enjoyed family meal times, and withdrawing socially. Other health symptoms such as complaining they're constantly cold (hypothermia), tooth erosion (created by frequent purging) and a low heart rate can be indicators of an eating disorder.

Dr. O'Toole writes that, many times these signs combine in a parent's eyes as a positive. When they see a child start to exercise and have it determined that they have a low heart rate, any talk of eating disorders is dismissed with the claim that the youth is simply working to become a better athlete.

Give food a chance (http://PerfSciPress.com/give-food-a-chance/) also empowers parents with information and case studies that will enable them to spot when decisions by a medical professional are not the most effective. Since many pediatricians only rarely see cases of anorexia or other eating disorders, they can be fooled just as parents are. Dr. O'Toole's foundation belief is that the patient is the best teacher.

This increased awareness on the part of parents is one of the ways Dr. O'Toole urges them to understand the role they must play and the responsibilities they must assume in the treatment of their child. Equally important is the responsibility of the physician to include the parents in the treatment process and make sure that all that's demanded of them is achieved. This includes counseling sessions, meal preparation, food journals and cooperating with the recommendations of the medical team.

Give food a chance presents a full range of awareness and knowledge that enables parents to play a necessarily stronger role in the treatment and recovery of their child.

1. The history, research, past beliefs and studies of eating disorders
2. Signs, symptoms and warning behaviors
3. What doctors see but don't understand
4. What happens when a child stops eating
5. Whether someone develops an eating disorder actually hates food
6. How the "whole" child needs to be addressed
7. A detailed description of the various steps of treatment
8. What to do when inpatient care is required
9. How to encourage recovery
10. Dealing with insurance companies

Give food a chance is available from PSIpress (http://PerfSciPress.com/give-food-a-chance/) as a paperback or downloadable e-book. The book can also be purchased at Amazon.com as an e-book for the Kindle, and for the iPad at the iBookstore.

About Dr. Julie O'Toole:
Dr. O'Toole is a graduate of Reed College in Portland, OR. She also attended the University of Washington and The Technical University in Aachen, Germany where she received her M.D. in public health. Dr. O'Toole's work involves the study of child behavior, especially in those children whose brains do not work properly regarding food and survival. Her main emphasis is on anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and food phobia, as well as eating disorders which lead to obesity or wasting conditions.

She founded the Kartini Clinic after providing care for children with eating disorders and discovering how challenging and confusing the medical communities were making matters for patients and their families. Learn more about the Kartini Clinic at http://www.kartiniclinic.com

About PSIpress:
PSIpress is a new, wholly independent publisher. Our mission is to help members of the science-minded community realize their full potential as published authors, and to help them enjoy the process. We take pride in the quality of our books, placing a great deal of emphasis on personal contact with our authors to ensure a successful publishing experience. For further details on Give food a chance please visit http://www.PerfSciPress.com or call 503-724-8656.

Contact:
Nicole Theodoulou
Marketing Specialist
PSIpress
3754 SE Knight St.
Portland, OR 97202
503-724-8656
nicole@perfscipress.com
http://www.PerfSciPress.com

PSIpress is a new, wholly independent publisher. Our mission is to help members of the science-minded community realize their full potential as published authors, and to help them enjoy the process. We take pride in the quality of our books, placing a great deal of emphasis on personal contact with our authors to ensure a successful publishing experience. For further details on Give food a chance please visit http://www.PerfSciPress.com or call 503-724-8656.

Nicole Theodoulou
Marketing Specialist
PSIpress
3754 SE Knight St.
Portland, OR 97202
503-724-8656
nicole@perfscipress.com
http://www.PerfSciPress.com

This release was published on openPR.