A fellow Autistic blogger, M Kelter, alerted me last week that he is no longer contributing to Autism Parenting Magazine because this month's issue includes coverage on a "curebie" doctor. You need a subscription to see the full issue, but you can see the list of contents on their site.
(If you know me by now, you know I don't provide a voice or links to things I don't agree with, so you'll have to do your own research - besides, I think that is better than just listening to my opinion! So while I will tell my story, I will not name names. I don't believe in giving these people a forum or space on my blog.)
So this particular doctor is a doctor of engineering, but since his daughter was diagnosed as autistic, he suddenly became some sort of biological expert. He no longer gets her vaccinated (he believes vaccines caused her autism) and he believes some sort of mixture of vitamins/supplements will "cure" her.
So after M Kelter informed me of his decision to cut ties with the magazine, I tweeted them to ask why they were including an anti-vaxxer in their magazine. To my great disappointment, they never replied to me. They did speak to him and said it was a matter of a difference of opinion. I'm sorry (actually, I'm not) this particular difference of opinion not only hurts Autistics, but it hurts all of society.
I don't believe you can seriously say you are working in the best interests of autistic people while simultaneously advocating for their "cure."
Also, when "treatments" become a matter of opinion and not based on actual reputable and real scientific facts, you have a great possibility for harm. I mean, I could say I believe eating worms is more effective than brushing my teeth, but that doesn't suddenly make it right, no matter how educated I am.
Why is it ok to experiment on Autistic people? I'm pretty sure most of us these kids didn't sign up to be test subjects. Meanwhile "doctors" and parents think it's totally cool to inject their Autistic kid with B12 in their ass in the middle of the night because CURE.
Not cool, Doc, not cool. Stick to building roads or bridges or whatever kind of engineering you were actually trained for. Shame on Autism Parenting Mag for giving a voice to a quack.
(If you know me by now, you know I don't provide a voice or links to things I don't agree with, so you'll have to do your own research - besides, I think that is better than just listening to my opinion! So while I will tell my story, I will not name names. I don't believe in giving these people a forum or space on my blog.)
So this particular doctor is a doctor of engineering, but since his daughter was diagnosed as autistic, he suddenly became some sort of biological expert. He no longer gets her vaccinated (he believes vaccines caused her autism) and he believes some sort of mixture of vitamins/supplements will "cure" her.
So after M Kelter informed me of his decision to cut ties with the magazine, I tweeted them to ask why they were including an anti-vaxxer in their magazine. To my great disappointment, they never replied to me. They did speak to him and said it was a matter of a difference of opinion. I'm sorry (actually, I'm not) this particular difference of opinion not only hurts Autistics, but it hurts all of society.
I don't believe you can seriously say you are working in the best interests of autistic people while simultaneously advocating for their "cure."
Also, when "treatments" become a matter of opinion and not based on actual reputable and real scientific facts, you have a great possibility for harm. I mean, I could say I believe eating worms is more effective than brushing my teeth, but that doesn't suddenly make it right, no matter how educated I am.
Why is it ok to experiment on Autistic people? I'm pretty sure most of us these kids didn't sign up to be test subjects. Meanwhile "doctors" and parents think it's totally cool to inject their Autistic kid with B12 in their ass in the middle of the night because CURE.
Not cool, Doc, not cool. Stick to building roads or bridges or whatever kind of engineering you were actually trained for. Shame on Autism Parenting Mag for giving a voice to a quack.
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