Dear Doctor Rashid Buttar,
I understand that you sell an autism cure called TD-DPMS (Trans Dermal DPMS). As the parent of an autistic child I’m very curious about this product and how it helps autistics.
I’m led to believe that TD-DPMS is not FDA approved and that David Kirby (author: Evidence of Harm) reports that:
one manufacturer of it told compounding pharmacists not to make up transdermal patches of the stuff because some kids had had bad reactions with rashes and even bleeding and scarring.
Is this true? Is this bad reaction the reason you decided to turn to making TD-DPMS a cream instead of a patch? How does this affect the effectiveness of the product? As I’m sure you know being a Toxicologist, Chelation agents need to absorb a certain amount of the product in order to even begin to be effective. Where are the studies I can get hold of to see the rates of absorption for myself?
In fact, this brings me neatly onto a related matter. Such an important scientist as yourself must surely have peers flocking to review your work. As such an august scientist you are no doubt aware of the most basic scientific precept of subjecting your scientific work for review so that others may critically appraise your work and replicate it. I was surprised therefore to discover that a search of http://www.pubmed.gov – the site that lists all scientific articles in peer-reviewed scientific literature – and found nothing when searching for ‘Rashid Buttar’. Did you submit your thesis under a pseudonym perhaps? I’m positive this must be an oversight and that the safety and efficacy of a product that you regularly use on children has been regularly tested and re-tested by both yourself and your peers as to do otherwise is tantamount to admitting one is afraid to submit one’s work for peer review – I’m certain that can’t be the case for you! The commenter below must surely be mistaken?
To be listed in PubMed, you have to have published scientific articles in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. It’s just that simple. Apparently Dr. Buttar couldn’t be bothered to submit his work to real scientific journals. It’s hard to be taken seriously as a researcher or scientist if you aren’t published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Certainly, I don’t take him seriously. In Buttar’s own words, he doesn’t know how much of the stuff is going in to the kid or how long it stays there.
Moving on, I was heartened to read in a PDF of yours that:
In a study due to be released by the winter of 2004, conclusive data was accumulated regarding the efficacy of a specifically formulated transdermally applied combination of DMPS conjugated with a number of peptides, called TD-DMPS
Although I was unable to find a copy of any report containing any data – conclusive or otherwise – and I was concerned to note that its now fully 6 months after your stated deadline (trouble with Secretary’s?), I feel sure that once this report is subjected to the rigours of scientific peer review in a scientific journal will fully vindicate the use of your TD-DPMS. I look forward particularly to seeing data on the long term effects of chelation on children and the incontrovertible proof that Chelation cures autism in all cases. Could you provide a definitive date of publication and details of which Medical Journal it will be appearing in please.
By the way, I know your cream is specifically geared towards kids as your remarks here make that clear:
Our success has been all under the age of nine, nine or under. Now since then, when I presented to Congress I told them that I didn’t think this would be effective for older children because the older children would use it, I didn’t see — they got better, they started talking, but they’re not in my book considered normal. They can read, but they’ll never do much more than flip hamburgers for a living, that type of thing.
In fact, it was after reading this that I decided to contact you. Anyone with such an obvious empathy and deep understanding of autism and autistics is just the sort of person I’d like involved in my daughters treatment. Its also good to see how concerned you are with treating non-verbal autistics as a matter of choice. Such selfless dedication can only be lauded in this day and age and lets face it – those autistics who can talk aren’t probably such an inconvenience to their parents and possibly don’t look quite as heart-wrenching in your parents videos. Its OK – I’m fully aware of the need to be marketable and nothing pulls at the heart strings as much as a child trapped in the ‘abyss of autism’ as one person recently called it.
It was a bit puzzling though. I know of several autistic adults who were diagnosed as low functioning in childhood who later grew up and became reclassified as high functioning. How could that happen do you think? Possibly a naturally occurring ‘hot spring’ of TD-DPMS they fell into? A kind of ‘Old faithful’ of Chelation? I mean, they claim they just ‘developed’ as they grew up but that can’t be right can it? People don’t just develop with age do they? Especially kids?
I was also interested to see that you test for high levels of Mercury by using hair analysis. The reason I was interested in this is that the AMA say that:
The AMA opposes chemical analysis of the hair as a determinant of the need for medical therapy and supports informing the American public and appropriate governmental agencies of this unproven practice and its potential for health care fraud.
and that
A recent 2-year study of students exposed to fumes from metal welding found that hair analysis did not consistently reflect blood levels of 11 heavy metals.
So now I was confused. On one hand I had the AMA and their 2 year peer reviewed study and on the other I had you. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m *sure* you’re really really late close to releasing your data for scientific review but you’ll forgive me if I entertained a moment of doubt. I mean, these guys seem to really know their stuff:
Hair mercury levels are not an accurate indicator of mercury exposure. Hair testing has never been standardized to provide meaningful information.
They then go on to list a whole load of reasons why not and then say:
Thus it should be obvious that analyzing hair for mercury is a waste of time and money and cannot be used to diagnose mercury poisoning. A competent practitioner would easily know this. It is fraudulent to use hair analysis to diagnose “toxic levels” of mercury (or any other heavy metal) or to assess nutritional status (and claim someone is “deficient” and prescribe or sell them supplements).
OK, so I was getting a little annoyed now. These guys were calling you a fraud! I mean here they were with their reams and reams of scientifically validated evidence and there you were with your cream and they had the temerity to call you a fraudulant quack! The cheek of some people!
And talking of cheek, I read that:
Dr. Buttar is the Vice-Chairman of the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology and holds a position of Visiting Scientist at North Carolina State University
And yet when I visited the NCSU website I couldn’t find any mention of you – don’t worry though, I emailed the site and asked them to confirm your status so no doubt they’ll be rectifying this error soon. Actually, now that I think about it it was a few days ago I mailed them and I haven’t had a response yet. Hmmm. Odd.
And the American Board of Medical Specialties – whats wrong with those guys? They say:
The American Board of Medical Specialties does not recognize the American Board of Chelation Therapists, the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology, the American Board of Chelation Therapy, and the Board Of Medical Toxicology
The way they word it – you know, making Chelationists put this paragraph on consent forms and everything – makes it look like they don’t trust you and think you’re all a bunch of quacks. Man, you must long for the days when the medical community just closed ranks against all outsiders. People had proper respect for alternative medical practitioners then I bet.
On that note, I was fascinated to read some of your other patients testimonials. The guy who says that:
He (Dr Buttar) told me that most of his patients were much worse off than I and that God had Blessed me by giving me a wake up call and that he could enable my body to heal itself! Now that is the first time I have ever heard a Doctor say he could enable my body to heal cancer.
Impressive stuff! Is the cancer cure done with cream too? I actually telephoned NHSDirect to see if they’d heard of this treatment but I didn’t get a straight answer. Actually they sounded a bit weird. There was a lot of what sounded like giggling on the other end of the line. Not very professional is it?
I was also interested in your Anti-Aging stuff:
As an anti-aging specialist, I have read many of the popular health and longevity books. Very few have impressed me. For this reason, I probably never would have read Natural Hormonal Enhancement had my associate not insisted, after reading it himself. Admittedly, I picked-up the book with a negative predisposition, assuming it would be more of the same. I couldn’t
have been more wrong in that assumption. Natural Hormonal Enhancement is very well-written and well-researched and it contains information that even many of my peers don’t understand or don’t recognize. I highly recommend this book.
The book in question being described on that site as:
Finally a Rational Approach to Health and Fitness! The Revolutionary Breakthrough that Renders Conventional Exercise and Diet Programs Obsolete! Harness the Most Powerful Biological Force in the Universe – Your Own Hormones – to Reshape Your Body and Turn Back the Hands of Time on Aging!
Blimey! You’re one busy guy! Cures for autism, cancer and even old age! Now, I know many people would find this suspicious but not me. Anything that says they can ‘reshape my body’ without exercise or diet gets my vote! Can I still drink beer?
In closing then Dr Buttar, I’d really appreciate answers to the questions I’ve posed you here, particularly on the effectiveness of TD-DPMS. I have a fairly large website that gets around 1300 unique visitors a day (that’s a few hundred thousand hits) and I’ve posted a copy of this email up so all my visitors can read it – I’ll be happy to post any response you can give me up there too. I know lots and lots of people who are asking questions about you.
In closing, my apologies for leaving the HTML in place in this email – I couldn’t be bothered to do my job properly. I’m sure you know what I mean. Look forward to hearing from you very very soon.
Left Brain Right Brain 
“The symptoms of mercury poisoning and autism are the same. Look them up for yourself. Gavin was diagnosed as autistic at 19 months and PDD-NOS, at the age of 2. He lost speech, stimmed, rocked, toe walked, had foul smelling diarrhea, extreme hearing sensitivities, skin rashes, and the list goes on. As you should know, these are the symptoms of most autistic children. So how can you say that autism is NOT
PAINFUL??????”
I have looked them up. They’re nothing alike. See here: http://www.kevinleitch.co.uk/wp/?p=228
Please explain to me how losing speech, stimming. rocking and toe walking are painful. The other things you list are not usual comorbidities of autism.
“You are not recognizing that autistic children stim, cry, meltdown, etc, because they ARE in pain!!”
Thats becuase they don’t. There are numerous reasons autistics stim. The usual one is because it encourages sensory integration. From the NAS website
“These behaviours are necessary to the autistic person and usually harmless. Self-stimulation releases tension and regulates sensory input”.
Carole, considering you’re the grandparnet of an autisitc you seem woefully ignorant and misinformed as to what autism is and how is affects people. You really need to do some proper research.
“And I believe that you are in pain and this website/blog (I am not very computer literate.) is YOUR coping mechanism. I also think that if you tried to help heal your daughter’s pain, that you would help your own pain. Of course, that would entail getting rid of your closed mind and tunnel vision.”
Well, thanks for the entirely unconvincing concern but neither my daughter nor I are in pain at all. Megan’s generally a very happy, confident little girl who’s just completing a very successful first year at school. She doesn’t stim because she’s in pain, she stims because she’s autistic.
I recommend you read a few web sites and books written by autistic people as you have no real understanding of the nature of autism or what the autism rights movement is about. You might be surprised. Try some of Donna Williams books which you should be able to get at Amazon. Or head over to http://www.autistics.org/library and read some of the pieces in the Library.
The need for stimming (and toe walking/corner-of-the-eye-looking) is sometimes down to a comorbidity called Synaesthesia.
” A synaesthete may, for example, hear colors, see sounds, and taste tactile sensations. Although this may happen in a person who has autism, it is by no means exclusive to autists.”
Autistics also sometimes have Irlen Syndrome which could also result in some stim-like behaviours which – far from being painful – *help the autistic adjust to these comorbidities*.
Skipping over the rest of your diatribe we come to this:
“I just also have to say that it is incredible to me that there are parents out there that are aware that treatments exist that may cure or at least make their child’s life better and they choose to do nothing. Absolutely amazing!!”
Again, you seem incapable of simple cognition. I intervene where my daughter has problems. I just don’t see autism as a problem. Where a comorbidity exists that requires intervention, we intervene: speech therapy for example.
Dear Kevin,
I just finished looking around your blogsite/website.
Below, in your reply to me, you make the point that pain is not part of autism:
“If your grandson was in pain you should know that pain is not a symptom of nor indicator of autism. The diagnostic criteria is readily available on several sites – pain forms no part of it. My daughter isn’t and never has been in pain leading from being autistic. Likewise saying that pain is caused by autism is equally false.”
However, in your colophon, you say the following:
“Because Megan’s ability to empathise is limited she is sometimes thought of as rude – or even deaf! When you’re ignored by an autistic it isn’t rudeness or (necessarily) deafness its because some autistics find social interaction terrifying and incomprehensible. Some autistics (including Megan) have pronounced difficulty with sensory input. For example, autistics with this issue say that certain sounds, colours, textures, tastes and smells are actually painful – their sensory equipment is wired badly in this respect, creating connections in the brain that don’t exist for the majority of people. Megan has particular difficulty with traffic – she is very scared by the noise and the speed. So much so that until the age of 5 we had to take her to school in a pushchair as she felt more secure. She also had a set of thick earmuffs to protect her from the worst of the noise. As she grows up she has become much more comfortable with traffic but it still unsettles her sometimes. She is also very particular about what she eats. Foods with a certain colour or texture are banished!”
You use the following words to describe how autism affects your daughter: terrifying, incomprehensible, actually painful, and scared. You have contradicted yourself on the subject of pain and autism.
Also in the colophon, you wrote:
“A lot of parents of both autistic and non-autistic children find our opinion of autism puzzling. We do not desire a cure for Megan, even should one exist which it does not. Megan is autistic, she does not have autism. We therefore believe that to ‘cure’ Megan would be to remove the very thing that makes her who she is. I don’t believe there is a ‘hidden’ Megan underneath the autism – autism is pervasive, not the layer on a cake.”
In the paragraph before the above, you wrote:
“Megan’s biggest challenge so far was starting at a mainstream school. The school have been fantastic and Megan gets full time support from a pair of dedicated support assistants but its been a challenging last 12 months. However, we are now getting the pay-off – Megan is very happy at school, her confidence is high and she has started to significantly interact with her classmates – something we would have thought impossible 12 months ago.”
It seems that you do delight in the positive progress of your daughter: “we are now getting the pay-off”. And I am sincerely happy for you and her. So it does not make sense that your wish for Megan is to remain as autistic as she is because if she got better, she would not be herself. This is a contradiction. I believe that your true desires for Megan are for her to get better. You just don’t know how to start. And that is okay. Email me off this site and I will give you my daughter’s email and she will be glad to help you-no charge.
You believed it impossible for Megan to significantly interact with her classmates 12 months ago. Now she is doing that and you are happy about it. Just imagine, if you did some biomedical intervention, what she might be able to do in another 12 months? Maybe she’ll even start sleeping through the night. Gavin used to have night terrors also. Now he sleeps through the night.
Sidebar: 1) By your writings, you appear to be an extremely bright man. I do not agree with most of the content of your writings, but you do write well. 2) When I wrote my first answer to you, I did not know that you lived in the UK. So the part about the taxpayers not footing the bill may not be correct in your country.
God bless you and your family.
Carole Andersen
California
Carole you’re still no getting it.
Difficulties integrating sensory information is a *comorbidity* of autism. It isn’t autism in and of itself. As I’ve repeated time and time again, if there is an issue that is causing Megan trouble then we intervene in that situation. This is not in any way equal to curing autism or autism being painful. There are numerous situations in which an autistic may feel pain but that does not equate to autism being the cause of that pain. Lots of people who are not autistic have these same sensory issues. How would you propose to treat them?
“You believed it impossible for Megan to significantly interact with her classmates 12 months ago. Now she is doing that and you are happy about it. Just imagine, if you did some biomedical intervention, what she might be able to do in another 12 months?”
Or she might be dead. Or have severe kidney damage. These are known side effects of Chelation. What are the long term effects of Chelation? Nobody knows because the quacks don’t like their crap being tested. When my daughter is doing so well (or even if she wasn’t) why would I want to inflict something so little is known about on her?
Kevin,
You are the one that doesn’t get it.
The drug companies and others (including you) would be shouting from the rooftops if a child had died or was severely injured because of chelation. Somebody’s head would be on a platter! I’ve not heard of one death or injury. Have you? Chelation has been safely used in the USA since 1940. Chelation is an approved treatment in mainstream medicine for lead poisoning, but not for mercury poisoning.
You sound like a spokesperson for a drug company.
Gavin has been on chelation treatments for 4 years and he is healthier than ever today. I just love it when he runs up to me and hugs and kisses me and says, “Grandma, I love you!”
I am so very grateful that my daughter and son-in-law were dedicated from the very beginning to find a cure for Gavin. It has been a long hard journey and well worth the effort!!
And Gavin is not the only recovering autistic child. There are lots of others.
With your atitude, Megan will not be one of them and she and her grandmother will most likely miss out on that joy! Such a shame.
God bless Megan and her family.
Carole Andersen
California
“The drug companies and others (including you) would be shouting from the rooftops if a child had died or was severely injured because of chelation. Somebody’s head would be on a platter! I’ve not heard of one death or injury. Have you?”
From the American Heart Association:
“In fact, a number of deaths in the United States have been linked with chelation therapy. Also, some people are on dialysis because of kidney failure caused, at least in part, by chelation therapy.”
You might also want to have a read through DMPS Backfire.
So far Carole, you’ve shown that you are ignorant of even the most basic and widely known facts about autism. You have also displayed a prejudicial view of autism and autistics. You have also made judgements about me and my daughter that are untrue based on an interpretation founded in ignorance.
You seem to have no knowledge of the concept of comorbidity and how it applies to autism and when its shown to you your response is to change the subject. By ignoring the reality of autism and by clinging onto outmoded and untrue beliefs about autism you in fact identify yourself as part of the problem. I have no doubt you love your grandchildren dearly but love is not enough. For their sake you are required to weigh the factual evidence closely. I think you need to take a long hard look at your family situation and re-examine your core beliefs regarding autism. In the long term your grandchildren will value your acceptance and love more than they will your need to make them ‘normal’.
This post was written by an autistic woman who was considered once as low functioning as my daughter. it discusses her thoughts regarding cures and/or institutionalization. I hope you take the time to read it and absorb its message.
Wow, is this a private feud or can anyone join in??
No seriously it’s nice to see that everyone believes so passionately in what they are saying – but very confusing for those of us that are just starting the journey with a newly diagnosed child.
But there are a couple of points that I would like to add having read the discussion with interest.
There seems to be a bit of an obsession going on with the Pharmaceutical industry and what they do and don’t do (follow the money etc etc). Although I have worked in this industry for many years, I cannot of course speak for all areas of the segment, but I think there is a huge misconception about the industry’s attitude to safety in drugs. I have been involved with many product withdrawals on safety grounds and I have always been impressed with the responsible attitude of those involved. That said, of course occasionally drugs get through that shouldn’t (Seldane/terfenadine being cited as an example – actually though to set the record straight it interacts with more than just antibiotics; basically anything that is eliminated by the Cytochrome p450 pathway in the liver…) but it would be a very short sighted company that couldn’t see beyond potential short-term profits to the consequences of litigation and loss of reputation. So I wouldn’t get so hung up on conspiracy theories etc.
On the other hand the fact that there is nothing in the Pubmed database on this form of chelation doesn’t really surprise me. To get there means that a publication has been through the peer-review process – perhaps seeing the strong comments from many on this site and others, and it has to be said especially from the medical community, it is no surprise that such a publication would be unlikely to get accepted.
And anyway, if Dr Buttar is having a sufficient practice load, based on the very scant evidence available – then there really is little pressure on him to do more. Actually it is up to the scientific and medical communities to help us all here – the problem is who will pay – and that is why there is so little solid evidence. Because one of the sad realities of the pharmaceutical and medical communities is that nothing happens unless someone funds it. So my guess is that unless some governmental body takes it on itself to answer this question (NIH or similar) which is unlikely – we’re going to be having this debate for a very long time.
And in that time, maybe, just maybe, children who could benefit will miss out. That’s the thought that keeps me awake at night. So debate is useful, but finding ways to answer this and other questions may be more so.
Good luck to all of you,
Max J
You’re right Max – ‘discussions’ like this generate more heat than light. People like Carole believe that anyone who doesn’t believe as they do are bad parents. Whereas people like me – who started off exactly where Carole is now – like to rely on what we know can definitely help and definitely can’t hurt.
All I can say to you is do as much research as possible. You don’t have to take anyones word for anything. Not mine and not Carole’s but don’t be too quick to use something that is so badly researched so little is known about.
Kevin,
You have totally misunderstood my position!
Cure or Institutionalize
At no point have I ever said nor do I believe that autistic children or any other special needs child has 2 choices – to be cured or institutionalized. I have a niece (my brother’s child) with cerebral palsy due to a botched birth. Heather is now 19 years old, can walk, talk (but difficult to understand her), is very loving and is mentally and intellectually 5 years old. She will never be able to live on her own and she will never be institutionalized. My nephew (my sister’s child), Steven, is now 8 years old and has Down’s Syndrome. He is a bit hyper, very loving, loves to wrestle with his brothers and is just starting to have understandable speech. He, most likely, will never be able to live on his own and he also will never be institutionalized.
I do believe that a parent should do what it takes to enable their child to be the best that they can be so that, that child’s life is enhanced. That is the goal.
Gavin’s parents set the goal of finding a cure for him. This took dedication, hours and hours of research on an almost daily basis that is still ongoing today, soul searching, deductive reasoning, courage, hard work, determination, faith, prayer and so much more. They have been working toward this goal for more than five years. NONE OF HIS TREATMENTS WERE DONE ON A WHIM. They were and still are being done responsibly. And Gavin’s life has changed dramatically from the age of 2 to the present age of 7 next month, FOR THE BETTER!
My daughter, Tami, became a Type I – insulin dependent diabetic – at the age of 7 yrs. My daughter, Cindy, became a Type I diabetic at the age of 26. No, my family has no history of diabetes, either Type I or II. Neither does their father’s family. I have 3 children, all daughters, my other daughter has no health issues. She is the only one of my daughters that has not had the MMR immunization. Tami had the MMR shot as a child. Cindy had the MMR shot twice to fulfill college entrance requirements and became diabetic a few months later.
My two daughters have diabetes and they are diabetics. Diabetes does not define who they are. Cerebral palsy does not define who Heather is and Steven is not defined by his Down’s Syndrome. I do not believe that they would not be who they are if they got rid of their label.
If I could cure each and every one of them I would. I DO NOT LOVE THEM ANY LESS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT NORMAL, AND IF THEY WERE ALL ABLE TO BE CURED, I DO NOT KNOW HOW I COULD LOVE THEM ANY MORE THAN I DO ALREADY JUST BECAUSE THEY WERE CURED!!!
Your quote from the AHA referred to HEART PATIENTS undergoing intravenous EDTA chelation. There were 2 heart patients in the study that died and the study was discontinued. It never said that the 2 deaths were due to the chelation. Perhaps that is because they were not in good health due to heart conditions. The site did not refer to autistic children undergoing responsible chelation with
NDF, NDF+, DMSA, DMPS or TD-DMPS.
As far as the DMPS site is concerned, the patient’s real names were never revealed, and, with the exception of Timmy the 4 yr old that developed a skin rash that cleared up in 10 days and was possibly caused by the existing virus he had at the time that the DMPS was given to him (irresponsible chelating), all of the patients were adults blindly following the mainstream medical doctors that ultimately admitted that they did not have much knowledge about chelation. Again, irresponsible chelating. I find it interesting that you have neglected to balance the negative by presenting some positive views.
It is not my intention to sway parents away from seeking help for their children. That is what you seem to be all about.
It is not right for you to try to close down one avenue of help by attacking Dr. Buttar even though YOU have no personal experience that he is NOT helping children. Still, I have not heard of one autistic child that has died from chelation. Yet, I have seen several autistic children benefiting from it.
You say my knowledge is lacking. I admit I don’t know everything. No one does, not even you. However, I’ve gone to the conferences. I’ve read books, etc. I belong to some autism groups that have websites where parents post on what is working and not working for their child. I am involved in supporting parents that are looking for a better life for their child. So don’t tell me I am ignorant about autism just because I believe that every child is entitled to be helped and you don’t agree. I look for solutions while you seem to prefer the status quo.
God Bless Megan,
Carole Andersen
California
Carole,
You said:
“I’ve not heard of one death or injury. Have you?â€
So I showed you evidence. If you want to move the goalposts after the fact thats up to you. The facts are that because no research has been done into Chelation as it applies to autism that we simply don’t know how it affects kids – which is my point. If you can demonstrate to me that its safe then be my guest. Until then its unproven.
“You say my knowledge is lacking. I admit I don’t know everything. No one does, not even you. However, I’ve gone to the conferences. I’ve read books, etc. I belong to some autism groups that have websites where parents post on what is working and not working for their child. I am involved in supporting parents that are looking for a better life for their child. So don’t tell me I am ignorant about autism just because I believe that every child is entitled to be helped and you don’t agree. I look for solutions while you seem to prefer the status quo.”
More strawmen. Where did I say children aren’t entitled to help? What I said was that autistics (not just children but adults too) are entitled to interventions that actually do help them where necessary – chelation doesn’t. Especially Buttars cream _which can’t even be demonstrated to be absorbed_ .
And Carole? You *are* ignorant. All these places you’ve done research and not once have you talked with autistics themselves. To you its all about kids and parents. I urge once more – talk to some autistic people, get their take on things.
“It is not right for you to try to close down one avenue of help by attacking Dr. Buttar even though YOU have no personal experience that he is NOT helping children.”
If I thought for one miute I could close down Buttar I’d be a happy man indeed. Unfortunately, the right to shill people seems enshrined in your constiution. To that end its entirely right that the facts regarding Buttar and his magic cream are exposed. Here’s an idea Carole – instead of telling me what I can or can’t say, how about you have a go at refuting the facts I’ve detailed regarding Buttar on here? If he’s been so hard done by it should be easy for you to find evidence that counteracts my points. Lets see how you do.
“Gavin’s parents set the goal of finding a cure for him. This took dedication, hours and hours of research on an almost daily basis that is still ongoing today, soul searching, deductive reasoning, courage, hard work, determination, faith, prayer and so much more. They have been working toward this goal for more than five years.”
You know I read that I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. You have the temerity to keep going on about how effective this crap is and then tell me you’ve been using it *for 5 years?*
Let me offer you a suggestion – a bit less prayer and a bit more common sense.
Kevin,
I just noticed that you took my post to Max off. That post was giving him information where to seek help for his newly diagnosed child. How evil is that?!!!?
Who the hell are you really??????
Do you really have a child with autism????
Carole Andersen
I have no idea what you’re talking about Carole. I’ve checked my spam filter so unless you included lots of links (which triggers an automatic deletion) your comment should be here.
Do I really have a child with autism? Are you for real? Out of touch you certainly are, ignorant about the nature of autism you also certainly are but I hadn’t got you pegged in the ‘raving paranoid conspiracy’ pile just yet.
Let me guess – I’m _really_ in the pay of ‘Big Pharma’ right? My daughter’s an invention and I’m Satan sent here to test you.
Carole, I think you and I have said all we can say to each other. I’m not going to change your mind and you’ve offered nothing substantive that would lead me to change mine. But in closing, let me offer you a little challenge.
What would it take to change your mind? What piece of evidence would be enough to make you realise that Thimerosal doesn’t cause autism and that TD-DMPS does nothing but make the skin slightly greasy? I’m really interested to know.
In return I’ll tell you what would change my mind: scientific evidence. Thats all. One paper, peer reviewed, published and replicated. All Buttar has to do to become the richest man who ever lived is submit his cream to the rigour of one single scientific test. Think how much money he’d make and how many more thousands of autistic children he’d reach by doing that. Don’t you wonder why he won’t?
. And Gavin’s life has changed dramatically from the age of 2 to the present age of 7 next month, FOR THE BETTER!
Five years ago, he was a toddler. Now he is no longer a toddler. All children change drastically between the ages of two and seven. Yes, that includes autistic children. The odds are that your grandson’s life has changed dramatically in those years because he grew older.
My two daughters have diabetes and they are diabetics. Diabetes does not define who they are. Cerebral palsy does not define who Heather is and Steven is not defined by his Down’s Syndrome. I do not believe that they would not be who they are if they got rid of their label.
If I could cure each and every one of them I would. I DO NOT LOVE THEM ANY LESS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT NORMAL, AND IF THEY WERE ALL ABLE TO BE CURED, I DO NOT KNOW HOW I COULD LOVE THEM ANY MORE THAN I DO ALREADY JUST BECAUSE THEY WERE CURED
Diabetes is not a problem of neurology. Cerebral palsy does not affect how you think. Down’s syndrome is inextricably linked to retardation. None of this is true for autism. It is wrong of you to pretend that these are the same thing.
Your quote from the AHA referred to HEART PATIENTS undergoing intravenous EDTA chelation. There were 2 heart patients in the study that died and the study was discontinued. It never said that the 2 deaths were due to the chelation. Perhaps that is because they were not in good health due to heart conditions. The site did not refer to autistic children undergoing responsible chelation with
NDF, NDF+, DMSA, DMPS or TD-DMPS.
Or perhaps it is because chelation is inherantly dangerous. You are picking at straws when you have to put so many ifs into a statement.
It is not my intention to sway parents away from seeking help for their children. That is what you seem to be all about.
This is, from what I’ve seen of this person’s writings, untrue and libellous. Just because he considers your form of “help” to be dangerous, and sees no evidence that it works, that is no reason to say he wants people not to help their children.
It is not right for you to try to close down one avenue of help by attacking Dr. Buttar even though YOU have no personal experience that he is NOT helping children. Still, I have not heard of one autistic child that has died from chelation. Yet, I have seen several autistic children benefiting from it.
No, you haven’t. You have seen autistic children grow older and mature. I know of autistic children who were more communicative, less prone to meltdowns, and the rest of it, at seven than at two as well – without chelation, ABA, or the rest of it. So all you know is that between two and seven, your grandson changed. You do not know the cause.
So don’t tell me I am ignorant about autism just because I believe that every child is entitled to be helped and you don’t agree.
Again, this is a libellious, and illogical statement. Please show the proof that he does not want children to be helped. Proof aside from “I do not like people spending money on dangerous and unproven ‘treatments’ which are no better than snake oil”, I mean.
I think that the evidence against mercury and immunizations needs to be addressed first and foremost. The initial authos (who attacked Dr. Buttar) apparently is driven by the need for science, so let him take a look at “peer-reviewed” scientific studies that show that Thimerosal in Immunizations has a definitive causal relationship to neurological disorders. Furthermore, let the initial author review the parent testimonials at http://www.generationrescue.org that irrefutably show immediate speech improvments that could not be attributed to anything other than a positive reaction to chelation and the protocol set out by Dr. Buttar and likeminded collegues. No matter what, parents of autistic children should follow their hearts and weigh out the plus’ and minus’ of trying chelation for their children. It is one of very few therapies that give hope to the hopeless.
Dear Brooke,
Parent testimonies are anecdotes. Anecdotes are not data.
Have you seen http://www.kevinleitch.co.uk/wp/?p=226 ?
Or http://www.neurodiversity.com/handley_exchange.html ?
Dear HN,
I read both the links you provided. And to quote you “anecdotes are not data”…All I read were letters back and forth from people on both sides of the issue.
I have done extensive research on mercury poisoning, thimerosal, and I know much more about autism than the average parent. I have also read transcripts of the Simpsonwood Conference which you can obtain a copy of for yourself online because of the Freedom of Information Act. In the transcripts of the Simpsonwood conference (which was hosted by the FDA and the CDC with a rep from the WHo and also from every manufacturer of immunizations) the participants discussed the “statistically significant” findings that Thimerosal laden vaccines greatly increased the likelyhood of manefestation of neurological disorders. This information was deemed damaging to the immunization program and the concensus was to white wash the evidence and count the children affected as casualties.
Not until 1999 did Congress decide, under heavy pressure, to remove Thimerosal from MOST vaccines. Howver, they never recalled the innoculations that were already sitting on shelves across the country.
While Generation Rescue was founded by parents, it is endorsed by very reputable scientists and by several congressmen. I don’t ever take anything i read on the internet at face value, that is stupid and irresponsible. I did, unlike you, take the time to actually read the 32 facts on Autism, the 25 Myths of Autism, and reviewed several of the 30 Scientific Studies cited to support the claims of the website before i recommended it to other parents or mentioned it on this blog.
So, in answer to your question…..yes, I read the cited links.
Do I agree with your apparent stance on the issue? NO.
Chelation is a treatment that has come a long way. The oral and intravenous chelations caused alot of side effects due to the fact that the metals were being pulled out at an accelerated rate that the organs of a small child could not handle. The newer forms of Chelation, which are not thousands of dollars, are very safe if your child is monitored (which is true for any type fo treatment). The TD-DMPS treatment pulls metals out of the body in much the same way and time frames that a normal person would excrete them. Not dangerous at all as long as you replenish the good minerals being pulled out with the bad.
I would be more than happy to have a conversation that revolved around facts and science rather than a who can outwit who in a battle of words. That doesn’t accomplish anything. The truth is that all any parent wants is to help their child. That emotion manifests itself in different way for every parent. Some think that truly loving their chil means accepting them the way they are and learning to live with their condition. Other parents, like me, see that their children have so much more to offer than the silence of autism. I cannot speak first hand yet of my childs recovery from Autism/Mercury poisoning, but in a year or so, I hope that will change. We are starting Chelation next week.
I wish you luck and happiness in whatever life brings you. I encourage you to read as much as you can on both sides of the fence before making blanket statements like some of the comments I found in the other blogs you cited. Peoples opinions don’t hold much weight……peer-reviewed scientific studies do.
Thanks,
Brooke
“Warrior Mom in Texas”
There are no credible peer reviewed studies that support the position that autism is caused by thimerosal. Nor are there any that support the position that Chelation cures autism.
If you believe there are Brooke, please post links to them.
Excellent post Brooke!!!
Get that Mercury out!
“Some think that truly loving their chil means accepting them the way they are and learning to live with their condition. Other parents, like me, see that their children have so much more to offer than the silence of autism.”
I missed that bit.
What an utterly vacuous and misleading argument. What on Earth makes you think that a) autism = silence and b) that if it did _any_ parent would accept it.
I’d also love to see the list of very reputable scientists that support GR’s position that autism is *only* merucry poisoning. If they do then they’re undeserving of the title ‘scientist’.
I would also like to state that autism is NOT the only reason for lack of speech or language. It may be one symptom of autism, BUT it is also the symptom of a myriad of other neurological conditions.
Those conditions would include profound deafness, Rett Syndrome, cerebral palsy and the aftermath of stroke or seizure (which could be from a number of reasons, from genetics to disease, like HiB).
The only reason I have gotten into this kind of discussion is because I do have a teenager with a speech/language disorder who is not autistic, but he has been in school with lots of autistic (or autistic like) classmates, and their parents populate the same support systems we use.
He had a seizure disorder. Which means he could not be vaccinated against pertussis with the then used DPT… during a time our county was going through a pertussis epidemic (about the same time the USA experienced an upsurge in measles, which caused 120 deaths due to measles). We had to be very careful of who he had contact with…. and made sure we knew of the vaccination status of every playmate he came into contact with. His health during his first year was dependent on herd immunity.
My own child has the symptoms of a child with autism. How should I show my doctor this? What should I do after I do this?
Syed, what country are you in? The proceedure in the UK is to take your child to your local Doctor who will then refer you to a specialist if he/she feels its appropriate.
HN / KEV:
Bottom line, there are plenty of unbiased peer reviewed studies out there. IF you don’t believe that, then you have your head buried in the sand (or elswhere). I have two rpinted studies at my home that I will bring to work with me and give you information on how to inverstigate it for yourself.
However,If you had taken the time to actually look up the reference I did give you (To the Simpsonwood Conferece -Hosted by the FDA,CDC, and WHo) then you would have read for yourself that they found a statistically significant links between Thimerosal in vaccines and a whole host of neurological disorders (primarly speech and language). They were very careful, however, to state that although the neurological symptoms they found mimicked autism – that thimerosal wasn’t the CAUSE of autism. They were protecting themselves even then.
And in case you didn’t know….Thimerosal was not only in the DPT vaccine, but in nearly all of them. The Hep B shot your child recieved in the hospital the day he was born had 28X the safe dosage of thimerosal. Ironically the MMR didn’t have any thimerosal in it, which most parents claim was the trigger, so don’t try throwing that in my face.
In a nutshell, the evidence is out there, but you have to actually read it, instead of prejudging it based on your own skewed versions of what autism is and isn’t. The truth is that autism and autism spectrum disorders are different for every child. There are basic symptoms, but those basics ripple outward and cause all kinds of odd behaviors, fears, and neurological manifestations.
I feel very sorry for you because you have seemilngly accepted what negligence dished out to you. Put yourself, your pride, your anger, and your fear aside and try looking at everything with an open mind instead of being beligerant about things you do not fully understand.
Even though Generation rescue makes broad, and many blanket, statements…..if yopu follow the trails that spread out from it, you WILL find the credibility you are looking for. Credibility to finally make the TRUTH believable to you.
Best Wishes,
Brooke
p.s. To quote me and then you:
me:
“Some think that truly loving their child means accepting them the way they are and learning to live with their condition. Other parents, like me, see that their children have so much more to offer than the silence of autism.â€
you:
What an utterly vacuous and misleading argument. What on Earth makes you think that a) autism = silence and b) that if it did any parent would accept it.
1) My child is nearly 7 years old and is nearly 100% non-verbal. He is growing more and more depressd at his inablility to communicate his feelings and desires. I see the sadness in his eyes and it makes my heart ache. He is living in a silence. he has thoughts and feelings, but he has no way to VOICE them. That is what i call the silence of autism.
2) many many parents do accept the silence for their children. Not because they don’t love them, but because they don’t know what to do. For instance, I have a great friend who has a child with autism too. her son will come and stand in front of her, just stand there. She knows he wants something, but she has already given him everything she knows to try. He won’t move because he still has a need to fill. She becomes angry and frustrated becasue she cannot help or satisfy her child. So, she walks away and crys in her room. He is still stadning there, now stemming, with a look of utter dismay and sadness in his eyes. That haunts me.
Whether you want to accept it or not, autism is like living in silence for many many children.
I, for one, do not accept that this is my childs destiny. That he was put on earth to be sad and to live in emotional solitude. I believe instead, that there was a huge mistake made in our medical society. Thimerosal was taken out of animal vaccines years and years ago because of possible neurologic effects, yet no one remembered that it was in vaccines given to babies….. I am not angry anymore, and I don’t want revenge or money for damages. I simply want my child back. I want him back the way GOD created him. Back before a medical mistake stole his mind away.
I hope you will take the time to look at evidence on both sides of the debate. Trust me it isn’t going away any time soon. Why wait until the truth is exposed to get help. By then it may be too late, if it isn’t already.
“Bottom line, there are plenty of unbiased peer reviewed studies out there. IF you don’t believe that, then you have your head buried in the sand (or elswhere).”
Then it should be easy for you to link to them.
“I, for one, do not accept that this is my childs destiny. That he was put on earth to be sad and to live in emotional solitude.”
Nor do I and my daughter isn’t. Autism isn’t the cause of your son’s unhappiness Brooke.
Kev,
I don’t presume to know your child, don’t you DARE assume to know mine. How hypocritical for you to call me vacuous then turn around and make a statement like that. You have no idea how autism has affected my child, just as I don’t know the extent of your situation. My child is an affectionate, intelligent, and boisterous boy. The only time he ever has meltdowns or any type of behavioral crisis is when he experiences sensory overload and when he is unable to communiacate his needs and desires. Those two main factors are part of his autism. So don’t presume to know why my child is depressed.
All you have done in any of your posts to me is spout your own personal feelings with no links or information that can even be validated. Insead of actually providing me with any type of imformation to support your own feelings all you have been able to do is spend time gritching becasue some of us are doing something you don’t understand or believe in.
Well, so what if you don’t agree with me. I am proactively helping my kid with Biomedical intervention, speech and ot therapies, family counceling, and a ton of love. So, regardless of your pitiful attitude and lack of information…..my child is still on the road to recovery. Yes, recovery. Mercury poisoning is a treatable ail.
I feel that you are being unbelievable stubborn in a situation where we as parents should be supporting each other. I don’t really understand why you are so adamantly set against a logical hypothesis that is being proven at this very moment. Why are you so set against even entertaining the possibility of hope?? My personal opinion, you have some type of political tie that make the thought of our governement knowinlgy allowing your child to be poisoned infathomable.
I forgot the study that i had printed at my house. So, in the mean time here is a link to a recent Science Digest Article published in June of this year.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/06/14/MNGKC75GMG1.DTL
The resistance to the theory of immunizations and autism is waning in congress as more and more studies are coming to completion. Congress is set to ban thimerosal in infant vaccines by 2006. Why do you think they are doing that???? If there was no proof of harm done and no risk, they wouldn’t spend the money to get it off the shelves.
I have provided you with several avenues to support my perspective, yet you have not provided one link that has more to it than blog postings.
Kev,
To quote a response you posted to Kevin Champange
“”If Mercury will ‘definitely’ cause long term damage then why hasn’t everyone in the last 60 years had cancer and heart failure? Come on man – engage your brain a little.””
I have to tell you that I laughed out loud when I read this. The effects of mercury are not the facts in dispute here. Are you trying to say that mercury isn’t toxic. HAHA.
You truly are the quack he accuses you of being. To think I was feeling bad for being so blunt with you. You have no idea what you are talking about. I, on the other hand, know of 5 families who have tried Chelation.
Out of those 5 families. 3 saw dramatic improvment in speech and language within 2 weeks to 2 months of treatment. 1 family saw regression, which made them stop treatment (even though a temporary regression is a noted possible side effect). And the final family stopped treatment because their child had an allergic reaction to a supplement. That family is currently undergoing allergy testing so that they can resume treatment.
So, in a nutshell (which is appropritate for you, since you are a nut) , you may choose not to believe in medice that isn’t endorsed by our wonderful government….but I have seen children recover, and I am looking forward to seeing my own child join those ranks.
I am finished with you and your closed mind. You will feel like a real ass when the truth comes out and your child isn’t among the scores of kids whose parents took the chance to help them when the timing was right.
I’ll pray for you and for your daughter, you definately need it.
AND BTW…..DON’T DETER ANY PARENT WHO SEEKS ANY TYPE OF TREATMENT FOR THEIR CHILD LIKE YOU DID WITH JENNIFER (EARLIER IN THE BLOG). YOU DON’T EVEN PROVIDE YOUR FULL NAME, SO YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO GIVE ANY TYPE OF MEDICAL ADVISE OF ANY KIND. IF THAT WOMANS CHILD MISSES OUT ON TREATMENT BECASUE OF YOUR MISLEADING….SHAME ON YOU.
Brooke, I was concerned about your story about your friend who walks away from her non-verbal child when he tries to communicate with her because he can’t speak out loud. You may want to help her explore some alternative means of communication such as PECS, a communication board, sign language, assistive technology like the VOCA devices, or whatever other communication methods you are exploring with your child. As you say, the ability to communicate is important, and if speaking out loud is not an option, then another method would be preferable to the parent just going to her room and crying. Your friend should be made aware that there are non-speaking autistic people who can communicate.
I was happy to see you describe your son as an “affectionate, intelligent, and boisterous boy.” It probably doesn’t seem to matter much now while he is 7, but you might not want to go around saying that his mind has been stolen. It does have a dramatic ring to it, but your description of him shows that it is not accurate. Many of us have older autistic kids who apply to college or for work, and we don’t like people to get the wrong idea that their minds have been stolen because they are autistic. Also, you probably wouldn’t want your intelligent son to think so either.
Your posts indicate that you may be under the mistaken impression that Kevin Leitch is a medical doctor from the United States. If you take even a cursory look at his blog as you are posting to it, you will see that he is a web designer/internet programmer from the UK. I don’t think he practices medicine on the side, but if you have problems with a PHP/MySql project or something, then he is your go-to guy. I don’t get the impression that Kev is too concerned about what our wonderful US government endorses.
I wish you the best of luck with your little one and finding a way for him to communicate.
Anne
Anne,
Thank You for the elloquent response. It is a nice change from what I had been recieving.
I made no presumptions about what Kevins proffession was or where he was located. All I knew about him was that he was attacking an issue from a view point of negativity…..not exactly in keeping with what works with autism.
About my friend: *MO as I’ll call her did respond that way for a long time because *O did not respond to pecs or the visual schedule that her therapist suggested. Amazingly enough *O began to type after I bought him an introductory typing program for kids. She was skeptical, but after about 3 weeks he had mastered the program. Close to a year after that he bagan to make the connection that words and letters go together and as of now he is communicating very well. I worded my paragraph so as to make a point of where some parents can be and where my friend had been.
I do apologize for any generalization you thought I was making about Autism stealing the mind. I feel very strongly that there was a medical mistake of horrific proportions that did steal the mind of my child. I am not saying that he doesn’t have a mind, but I am saying that what he has now was not what GOD gave him, and does not relfect who GOD created him to be.
I can see that my child is intelligent by the things he accomplishes and the problems he manages to overcome with no verbal language or assistive technology. My son wants to talk, not use a keyboard or PECS. I’ve tried for two years to get him to do the pecs. He would rather sit and try for 15 minutes to force the words to come out than to use a card. The look on his face is “I AM NOT USING THAT STUPID CARD!!!” It can be frustrating, but he is determined to speak, and I am determined to help him.
I do aprreciate your response and the concern for my friend. When I said that the scene I saw that day with her and her child haunts me…that is the truth. The reason I told that story is because I know that not all parents are as strong and motivated to help their children as we are. You would think that every parent would walk through fire for teir child, but unfortunately that isn’t the case. I try to reach out to whomever I can, but I can’t fight the battle for every child or every parent.
Thanks Again,
Brooke
p.s. forgive my spelling, I am at work and am typing to quickly… 🙂
Brooke I have no idea what to say to you – you say I called you vacuous when I didn’t (but *what* you said was pretty vacuous – Anne’s better with words than me though), you then go on to say I presume to know your child because I say autism isn’t the cause of his unhappiness???
There must be more substantial differences between British English and US English than I thought. A lot of what you say I simply don’t understand at all. Sorry.
Dr. Buttar has claimed that he has cured his son from autism. I don’t know the requirements in US but in Australia, for autism to be diagnosed, the child has to be assessed by 3 medical practitioners. I would be happy if Dr. Buttar provides assessments of his son at the time of diagnosis and one after he was cured. To have a paper published in a peer reviewed journal can be a long and arduous process (although this would be ideal).
I think the point of my last comment was missed… Autism is NOT the only cause of communication disorders. It is just one of many reasons.
For example… before a child who is non-verbal gets evaluated by a speech/language pathologist he/she is seen by an audiologist. This is to determine if the child has a hearing loss.
(I once saw a comedy act by a hard of hearing comedian. She made a comment that back in the “good ol’ days” she was put into a special class for the mentally retarded. That was until they figured out that she had a severe hearing loss. Her punch line is: “And they thought I was slow!”. I cannot remember her name, sorry).
For more information on all the varieties of communication delays and disorders please see:
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Late-Blooming-or-Language-Problem.htm (browsing through this website may link you to other augmentative communication systems, likw http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Communication+Decisions.htm … my son used sign language until he could produce intelligible speech).
I also found the book by Patricia McAleer Hamaguchi very helpful (it also had an appendix listing useful organizations in the edition I read): _Childhood Speech, Language and Listening Disorders, What Every Parent Should Know_ :
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471034134/ … I see it has been updated. I found it useful even though it did not have my son’s disorder in very much detail (oral motor dyspraxia with functional dysarthria and some dysphasia … which may or may not be related to a history of seizures — by the way, they were infantile spasms that occured while he was still a newborn in the hospital and before ANY jab… even for the PKU blood draw, http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1219.asp … which he got a bit late, and it was a combined with a test to check for phenobarbitol level).
Has anyone ever seen “Lorenzo’s Oil?” I have. I watched it with my son Colin.
He was 4 at the time. He said, “Mommy, it was just like us at all the hospitals.” Then, he hugged me and thanked me for “saving his voice.”
Colin lost his “voice” at age 18 months, right after his immunizations. By 2 1/2 Georgetown University labeled him “PDD.” By age 3 1/2 he was labeled with “High-functioning autism.”
His Georgetown neurologist said he would never speak again and probably always bang his head, avoid eye contact, etc. He encouraged me and my son to be “medicated” so we could “accept” our fate.
I took matters into my own hands. I researched until I could find a diet that would help stop his “mysterious” GI symptoms that no doctor could help us with. The GFCF diet didn’t work. We tried the “Specific Carb. Diet” or SCD – and it was a miracle.
Colin spoke, did pretend play, made friends, and started catching up in all areas — all at 4. The ABA therapists wouldn’t even take our money; they said he was doing fine on his own. The diet was all we did. Many said, oh, “It just happened; kids catch up” or “you have no SCIENTIFIC proof that the diet helped him.”
Well, Lorenzo’s dad didn’t either, but he knew the oil was helping his son get better.
If I had to sit around waiting for doctors to help my son, he could still be at home – banging his head all night (in pain, he later told me his tummy hurt and he couldn’t tell me), having bad GI (diar.) all day.
Today, he is integrated 80% in a mainstream class. And, despite the fact that he has learning disabilities, he is reading at the state VA level for 1st grade and passed all his subjects. His fine motor is still weak, however, and he has social confidence challenges. And, he still has metals…arsenic, mercury–seven of them to be exact.
We are going to Dr. Buttar next week. I believe in him. If my son goes off diet, he has problems. Why? Why isn’t his gut healed yet? The metals. I know it is the metals.
Colin doesn’t want to have to diet the rest of his life; he wants me to “get the metals out.”
I can’t listen to all the doctors (alternative and mainstream) for answers. I have to listen to my son. My understanding of his symptoms and my instinct to follow what is best for him has gotten me this far. I am not going to let this political debate interfere with my decisions.
Vitamin C chelates. ALA chelates. He has had good responses to both. I may not be a doctor or a scientist – I am just a Mom. But I believe in my son, and I will not stop until he is free of the metals…and until I know the genetic reason behind the fact that made him unable to fight off the mercury–like most kids were able to do. The glutathione must be low in my family – many of my relatives had Parkinsons – and there ARE proven studies showing people with Parkinsons have low glutathione….there must be a reason we don’t have it and have weak immune systems.
I will not stop until I find that reason. And call me what you will, my son is healing…and while people are debating on which side is right and who is more honest – the medical organizations and drug companies or parents like Dr. Buttar and other “alternative” doctors – I will be busy healing my son.
The truth is never one side or the other. The true answers in life are somewhere in between.
Good luck to all parents out there who understand this struggle… Never give up.
-Jennifer
Jennifer – you do know that 90% of autisitcs go on to develop speech before the age of 10 right ( ~ C. Lord, S. Risi, A. Pickles, “Trajectory of language development in autistic spectrum disorders,†in Developmental Language Disorders: From Phenotypes to Etiologies, edited by Mabel L.Rice and Steven F.Warren (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004)? Without chelation?
Its a biomedical red herring. If chelatinists want to help kids so much why don’t they allow their processes and tinctures to be peer reviewed? As soon as it ‘went mainstream’ the potential would be there to help vastly more kids – I wonder why they never do.
Does that same study say that the children develop speech, start pretend play, stop having severe diar., and suddenly grow 6 inches before they’re 10 too? Does that same study say that “magically” wake up and start being emotional and hugging you all the time and start having conversations with you about God and religion and marriage and life and death before 10 too?
Give me a break. The SCD diet has not been “peer-reviewed” or accepted by doctors yet either, and it was the best thing I ever did for my son. OT, Speech – nothing worked. The diet did.
You know part of my inspiration was a woman who was the newsletter editor here in the DC area for the autism society. Her adult son with autism STILL suffered from GI symptoms–he’d been suffering since he was a little boy. NO ONE tested him for GI problems until he was in high school. By that time, he had a form of Colitis. She said it was too late for her to get him to follow a diet. SHE had only listened to mainstream doctors. I decided to listen to my instincts and my son. My son is 8 and does not have any more “mysterious autistic diar.” anymore. I didn’t wait for the doctor’s official stamp of approval for the SCD – and I’m not waiting for the one onTD-DMPS.
Chelation my next step–period. Buttar helped his son and others…my son is next. I could care less about how long it takes mainstream medicine to wake up and smell the coffee. Diets cures won’t make drug companies money and chelation creams are big money makers either. Our Western culture is way to closed minded on how to cure patients. What ever happened to listening to a patient – or to a patient’s parents who know them best? We observe them every day. That may not be a “clinical study” but no one cares as passionately about a child’s recovery, or understands their symptoms as well as a parent.
As I said before – the answer is never as clear cut as everyone wants to make it. The truth always somewhere in between. Integrated medicine – and getting to the ROOT of illnesses–including autsim–is the future. Wait and see.
-Jennifer
Does the diarrhea actually have anything to do with autism? My nephew didn’t have that problem. If anything, he had the opposite problem because of picky eating or whatever.
He was on a gluten-free diet for six months, and though he improved during that time, his parents came to the conclusion it was from the ABA and quit the diet and he still kept improving.
He’s five years old and he’s been talking about life and death and religion for a year now. So there are other therapies that produce the results you described. Maybe it was your son’s ABA after all?
You’re right Emmanuel – Diarrohea has nothing directly to do with autism. There’s emerging evidcne yet to be validated that suggests it might be a comorbidity but gastric issues form no part of the diagnostic criteria.
Jennifer – like Emmanuel’s nephew, my daughter started expressing emotion, is the biggest girl in her class (at age 5 she wears clothes made for a 9 year old) loves to give and recieve hugs, has grown happy and confident – all without ‘special’ diets or chelation. Kids grow and develop – even autistic kids.
onTD-DMPS
My son is now 6 years of age and at the age of three was non verbal. I have given him 32 TD-DMPS treatments. All I can say is that he is the most responsive, beautiful, loving, child on earth.
Say what you want, I have living proof of what can be achieved when you look out side of the box.
I need no more proof than to hear him speak with confidence each morning as he jumps on the school bus.
Don’t let the world pass your child by when there is hope!
Oh wow!… my son was also non-verbal at age 3 (and very loving). When he was 6 years old he was also talking.
WithOUT any strange un-tested creams.
Just speech therapy (started at age 2 1/2) and a good educational placement with a good special preschool at age 3 and kindergarten at age 6… and onto a regular ed. 1st grade the next year.
Obviously… Rich Frank’s son has been kept away from ALL speech therapists, occupational and physical therapists and will start school for the FIRST time in the next couple of weeks. Right? Because it was the cream, and the therapists, teachers and aging would have had no influence on the child’s development at all.
“Say what you want, I have living proof of what can be achieved when you look out side of the box.”
No you don’t.
I’m glad your boy is talking to you if thats what makes _him_ happy Rich but HN is absolutely right. Speech Therapy will beat TD DMPS hands down any day of the week. There’s not even any proof Buttars magic cream even passes the skin barrier, let alone does any Chelating.
The hard work in your scenario was done by your son and his therapists, not Buttar and your money.
Obviously… Rich Frank’s son has been kept away from ALL speech therapists, occupational and physical therapists and will start school for the FIRST time in the next couple of weeks. Right? Because it was the cream, and the therapists, teachers and aging would have had no influence on the child’s development at all.
Obviously, I’m unable and unwilling to spend the time necessary to provide a complete history on the development of my young son.
I will inform whom ever wants to know however, Stratton received very intense therapy provided by private sources as well as local county and state programs shortly after we had him tested for what appeared to be at the time a sever hearing loss at the young age of 20 months.
He began an excellent full time public program at the age of three and continued throughout the summers while the other children enjoyed the time off. “The hard work in your scenario was done by your son and his therapists, not Buttar and your money.”
You’re absolutely right; his wonderful progress is a direct result of his own hard work.
Myself, as well as others are simply providing the tools.
This so called magic cream is nothing more than a continued effort to see that Stratton receives every opportunity to develop the life skills necessary to reach his full potential.
I weighed the risk of treatment with this so called magic cream as did years ago with the vaccinations he received as an infant and decide there was little reason not to administer the strange un-tested cream.
I question why some of you in this blog are so aggressively negative to normal people willing to do thing differently than you!
Are there any of you that are experts on the subject matter or simply choose to see the cup always half empty?
Tell me why are you so apposed to people using harmless alternative treatments?
So what if this cream turns out to be nothing more than hand lotion and I’m not saying that it isn’t, has it really hurt you or anyone else?
What’s your beef with this cream anyway? Is it that you guys are trying to be good servants and alert the general public regarding “Dangers” associated with its use, if so, please provide the data and I’ll cease its use immediately? Or are you simply in need of lashing out for your own unknown personal reasons.
Until I see adverse reactions to the TD-DMPS I’ll continue its use.
You may not believe this either, but I know some people who believe in things like Love and GOD, yet they have never seen them.
Belief alone has healed a many a stranger things than PDD.
I recommend putting some positive in your life and leave the harmless to their own.
The “beef” with the cream is that:
1) The cost of $800 to see Dr. Buttar
2) The cost of the cream… with absolutely no evidence to show that it even is absorbed into the skin.
3) Folks like you telling us that the cream did wonders, yet forgetting to mention or even credit the many hours of therapy and schooling that occurred from age 3 to 6… I had a conversation with a speech therapist who had client’s mom go on and on and on about how some supplement was causing improvements in the child — The therapist got a blank stare when she asked “So you don’t think the 2 hours a week of intensive speech therapy your son received from us had any effect?” (by the way, the therapist worked for a clinic that provided FREE services to eligible people).
4) Folks like you ignoring the fact that most of the kids improve withOUT the “magic cream”.
5) Folks like you assuming that every child with speech/language difficulties is autistic due to vaccinations. Newsflash: My son is neither autistic and nor did his seizures have anything to do with vaccinations (a very young newborn almost 17 years ago).
So… here is our question: Why the need to defend someone who is trying to make lots of money on faith alone? Why do you feel the need to spend your hard earned money on something that has never been shown independently to work, or even to be absorbed in the skin?
… and why did you even forget to count or even mention the actual hours and hours of work in effort by your son, his therapists, his teachers or even you, his parents?
The last bit is the most offensive.
Especially since there are parents who opt for the chelation route and decide to skip the therapy and schools (even when it has been offered free of charge)…. wasting their money and the very precious early intervention time.
HN,
I am amazed that you or anyone would consider 2 hours a week of speech therapy to be “intensive”!!
(“So you don’t think the 2 hours a week of intensive speech therapy your son received from us had any effect?â€)
I have asked around and I have been unable to find any one, adult or child, who has recovered from autism or any other developmental condition due to “natural progression” or “aging”. I was wondering if you had any peer reviewed publications on this method.
I am also wondering why someone who does not have an autistic child would be so bitterly opposed to parents who do have an autistic child finding other methods including alternative treatments to help their child have a better childhood and future. YOU are not paying for their child’s treatments, so how are YOU being hurt? Why are you so obsessively critical of those parents??
Carole Andersen
Carole your argument is nonsense. Children of all neurotypes develop and progress. I’m totally bewildered by your ‘asking around’ and failing to find people who ‘recover’ without chelation.
There’s people in this thread who are autistic who seem able to discuss this issue with you very easily. There’s people in this thread (including me) who’ve seen our children develop and progress just fine without the risk of chelation. Why the hell are you asking for peer reviewed studies for child develoment? That makes absolutely no sense at all.
Rick and Carole – Chelation is not harmless on many levels.
Firstly, its use even as a mainstream chelator is ambiguous. Its use as a ‘cure’ for autism is totally without scientific merit. If you are willing to stump up thousands of pounds (or dollars or whatever) then thats entirely your issue but you are promising false hope to people. TD DMPS in all probability doesn’t even pass through the skin. You’re paying (and encouraging others to pay) for a scam.
If however, it turns out it _does_ pass through the skin then you are using a poorly understood treatment that has been linked by the American Heart Association amongst others to serious organ failure and in some cases, death. Chelation is *not* a harmless treatment. Buttar’s TD DMPS is totally and wholly untested in any way – how do you know what its doing? If you beleive that mercury is specific enough to do very specific damage to a brain resulting in autism then how does it follow that a non-specific, untested, unverifiable ‘treatment’ such as chelation is in any way safe?
The only thing thats absolutely sure about what you are doing is the fact that your kids are guinea pigs. You’ll have to forgive HN and myself if we’re unwilling to let that sort of thing go by without comment.
You are also, with your dogged, obstinate and unfounded belief that autism = mercury and chelation = cure, deflecting much needed money away from valid interventions that will actually help autisitic people.
“Scientists, despite ample evidence to the contrary, are people. And like other people, not many of them will consciously and willingly do something that will hurt them or their career. I know of researchers in the field of neurodevelopment and neurophysiology who have said flat out that they wouldn’t touch autism research with a ten-meter pole. They have seen what happens to the folks who stepped in the middle of this catfight and they don’t want any part of it.”
Thats from an American scientist and fellow blogger. This continuing kidnapping of autism by ignorance and desperation has resulted in the statistic in my own country where only 8% of all time/money devoted to autism now gets spent on researching interventions. Most of the rest goes on chasing this idiotic thiomersoal or MMR connection.
Please – just stop and think about the harm you are doing. Your actions have consequences that have global impacts for us all and local impacts on the long term health of your own kids. Wake up, dig your heads out of your prayer book and do something for your kids, not yourselves.
Dear Carole,
That was an example of a conversation I had with a real speech therapist. This was discussion because she works at a university’s child development center that provides free and low cost services to many children. Her daughter happens to have cerebral palsy and had also received services there. Some places 2 hours a week of therapy is intensive… especially compared to the half hour a week some kids get in the school (many times the 2 hours comes in 4 half hour sessions because the pre-schoolers cannot handle much more).
I came to this discussion because a disability listserv I was on was taken over by some parents of autistic kids. They kept going on and on about chelation… and then I found out one of the parents actually worked for one of the proponents (apparently they are out seeking other disability groups, including seizure disorders, cerebral palsy, Down’s Syndrome, Fragile X and many others).
Autism is NOT the only disability that this bilge is directed towards.
My anger is directed to those who want us to spend our limited amount of funds (insurance does not cover all neurodevelopmental therapy, often parents have to pay for it themselves) on unproven, sometimes dangerous (in the case of oral chelation and other drugs given to kids) and even useless (like the Buttar Cream and cranialsacral therapy, the latter being a kind of homeopathic massage) treatments.
I have had heard through other disability forums of parents being sold on doing chelation (and/or other un-proven methods) and then stopping or not even starting early intervention programs for their kids.
That is reprehensible.
Kev,
I never said, “without chelation”. I said due to “natural progression” or “aging” which is the explanation you and your camp give to any child that is getting better. So where are all of the adults that have recovered from autistism (no insult intended to your daughter or anyone else) due to “natural progression” or “aging”? And since you are so sure that this is the explanation vs. alternative treatments and protocols, why would there be a need for intervention research?
Just for your information, I bellieve that several different therapies should be available to treat autism spectrum disorders, including but not limited to chelation. I don’t think that parents should be ridiculed for searching for treatments to improve their child’s/children’s lives and futures. All kids are different and are affected differently and therefore, may respond differently. What works for one child may not work for another child. Also, what works for one child MAY work for another child. That’s why there are so many parent networks around.
Mainstream medicine cannot be depended on to help their child/children. All they have to offer is just “accept the diagnosis” and if the child’s behaviors become unmanageable “sedate” or “institutionalize”. If ” natural progression” or “aging” is the explanation for the recoveries of the children that have recovered, why doesn’t mainstream medicine mention that when the child/children are diagnosed? Since they are diagnosed by a TEAM of doctors, at least, here in the US, you would think that one of doctors would say, “Your child may/will get better as he/she grows due to natural progression/aging and here are the statistics and studies on it.”
“They have seen what happens to folks who stepped in the middle of this catfight and they don’t want any part of it.”
The above comment scares me because it shows that researchers are afraid they may find results that go against the pharmaceutical companies and/or mainstream medicine.
Perhaps there IS something to what all those “mercury moms”
are saying.
Carole Andersen
So do you have any evidence that the DMPS cream actually gets past the skin to do anything?
Does it do anything other than sit on the skin and smell bad?
Why would anyone want to pay for that than, for instance, 8 to 20 speech therapy hours?
With all due respect, it sounds like the issue isn’t the cream or other unproven/untested alternative, it’s the money to you!
Therefore, you of all people should respect the fact that possibly the reason some of these alternative medicines haven’t yet received the blessing of the Medical community might be a result of the lack funds! So for some of us experiencing positive results using these non-mainstream alternatives the proof (and our money) is in the pudding.
You two do know that a 5 year old autistic child died on Tuesday whilst undergoing Chelation right?
This isn’t about money, its about respect for your kids strong enough not to treat them as guinea pigs using methods that could bloody kill them!
Scientists hesitate to get involved not because they don’t want to piss off Pharma’s but because they’ve seen what happens to their colleagues who recieve hate mail, death threats, obscene phone calls etc when they publish more evidence not in line with these Mercury Moms.
I myself recieve about 10 or so pieces of hate mail a week. I’ve been called a chid abuser for (ironically given todays news) not chelating my daughter and told I should go and sit next to ‘the nearest arab carrying a backpack’.
The simple truth is the a lot (and I mean a _lot_ ) of people on your side of the debate simply aren’t rational. Rational people don’t throw away their kids lives on dangerous unproven treatments. They don’t justify it with statements to the effect that their kids are ‘better dead than autistic’.
Carole wants studies to show most autistics end up just fine. I guess that depends on your definition of ‘just fine’. How about speech? 90% of all autistic kids can speak before the age of 9. I can’t be bothered to track the source down but I will find it if you request it.
Carole also wants to know where all the adult autistics are. They’re all around you Carole. Dan Akroyd is on the spectrum, he’s an adult. Here’s seven pages of adult autistics. How about two large web forums dedicated to teen and adult autistics? AspiesForFreedom has over 650 members. WrongPlanet has over 800 members.
The ‘autism epidemic’ line is, frankly, bullshit. New Scientist explains why but be careful – it contains actual science.
HN,
My daughter put some TD-DMPS on my arm and it absorbed into my skin. Additionally, it did not smell as bad as you are making it out that it does. My grandson gets his dose in the evening after dinner every other evening. He takes a bath in the morning before school and is offensive to no one. When I give him a hug and kiss before he goes to bed there is no offensive odor coming from him. As far as the smell goes a mountain is being made out of a molehill. This is slow chelating as is NDF plus and my grandson has benefited from both.
As far as chelating in general, I personally think that slow chelators (oral, transdermal) with mineral/vitamin support appear to be better (easier on the body) than faster (IV) chelators.
As I’ve said before, my daughter has done hours of research almost daily for years. She has figured out what she expects a certain treatment to do for her son (Gavin) before she tries it on him. If she sees that it is not working she will discontinue it and research an alternative treatment or protocol. Many times she only has to reduce the recommended amount to see positive results. Her advice is to go slow first.
In answer to your question, I don’t think that chelation is the only answer. I think that there are so many issues to address that all types of treatment, protocols and therapies should be considered. After diligent research of course.
Any therapy offered by the schools or any other agency should be taken advantage of because it may help. However, be careful, I just heard of a public school whose autistic and other special needs children’s teachers asked the parent if “time out ” was permissible. The parents of course said yes. Time out was a dark 4 x 7 foot room (closet) that the offending child was locked into via deadbolt. Unfortunately the children were unable to tell their parents about this mistreatment. An aide finally did. My friend’s non verbal 6 year old was in this class. There is no easy answer. The parents are doing the best that they can in a difficult situation.
Carole Andersen
Kev,
No, I did not know about the child that died during chelation. I am so sorry for that family.
Thank you for the link to the news article. I did notice that the chelation used on the child was the IV type, the same chelator that the American Heart Association reported on.
Carole Andersen
“With all due respect, it sounds like the issue isn’t the cream or other unproven/untested alternative, it’s the money to you!”
Actually it is about effective treatment, and not throwing good money away.