People are trying to use bleach to cure autism?

Phirrgus

I couldn't get a 'facepalm' gif to work in the title, but apparently this is really happening?

https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEOR0V6ZBXOeRs3AB84xBxVIqFQgEKg0IACoGCAowlIECMLBMMJ-mHg?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en

According to NBC, four of Austin’s of six children have autism, and a review of her Facebook page showed she has attempted various fad alternative treatments on her children. The news outlet reviewed social media posts and a Lenexa police department documents that reportedly show throughout the last year, Austin has given regular doses of chlorine dioxide to her two sons, aged 27 and 28.

The boys’ father, Bradley Austin, has reportedly been trying to prevent Austin from administering chlorine dioxide to their sons since he found out she was doing it in January. But, according to NBC, the Lenexa police and Kansas adult protective services looked into the matter and decided not to do anything about it. The dismissal from law enforcement reportedly baffled Bradley, who told NBC News,“I just want her to stop.”

There's a good bit more detail in the article regarding this particular case, but I tend to agree with one of the comments left below the article.

“consuming bleach will treat various illnesses—acne, flu, malaria, HIV, hepatitis, cancer, and autism.”

Yes, it is a miracle cure. Those things and many others will no longer afflict you when you are dead from drinking bleach.

How far will the human race go for a "miracle" cure and/or profit?

Keto_Vampire

But the label clearly states, "Miracle Mineral Solution"....as if there were any deception in advertisement/marketing with fanciful grandiose promises. F'ing Wild Wild West as far as supplements go...yeeeehah

nutmegoreo

This reminds me of an article I was reading years ago about some of the alternative treatments that had been administered by parents to children with asthma. Of the people interviewed for the study (and I forget how many had been interviewed because this was at least 10 years ago), 2 had given their children turpentine to drink. Very disturbing what people will do.

nooboots

People are mad but the police and social services shouldnt be, why hasnt she been charged with assault?

aokoye

That this has been disregarded by law enforcement and Kansas Adult Protective Services is appalling. I have much stronger words for this that I'm pissed aren't allowed on this forum. Here's to hoping this mother doesn't end up killing her (adult) children.

magicaldryope

I'll be honest, face palm isn't precisely my reaction here. This isn't an isolated incident and it isn't new, either in bleach form or anti-vaccination hysteria or straight up murder (hey, remember when that Autism Speaks board member made a video about wanting to murder her autistic child? because I promise that the autistic community isn't about to forget that one anytime soon!)

I'm not surprised the police and protective services don't care, because all the Autism Warrior moms and the (neurotypical lead) Autism orgs make a big deal about how your kids are better off dead than one of us. We get murdered all the time by our caretakers (here have an article because I don't really want to look up every case I can think of about this, it's too upsetting) but it's understandable because it's just SO CHALLENGING for people to deal with us. People would rather their kids die of measles or make unfounded claims about gut bacteria or force bleach on people than cope with the fact that their child has a disability.

Of course it's really happening, because the people who are supposed to care about us care more about not having to face the reality of our disabilities. I'm very fortunate that I have parents who did in fact care about me, and that my disability is not severe enough to warrant a care taker as an adult, but the treatment of the more vulnerable members of my community by the people who are supposed to watch out for them absolutely infuriates me.

We're disabled, not inhuman, but I guess that's too hard for some people to accept.

But for those of you specifically in the thread saying this is horrible - I see you, I thank you, I hope that you eventually have enough numbers to peer pressure the rest of society into actually caring about our well being.

BuiltLikeAPeep

magicaldryope wrote: »

I'll be honest, face palm isn't precisely my reaction here. This isn't an isolated incident and it isn't new, either in bleach form or anti-vaccination hysteria or straight up murder (hey, remember when that Autism Speaks board member made a video about wanting to murder her autistic child? because I promise that the autistic community isn't about to forget that one anytime soon!)

I'm not surprised the police and protective services don't care, because all the Autism Warrior moms and the (neurotypical lead) Autism orgs make a big deal about how your kids are better off dead than one of us. We get murdered all the time by our caretakers (here have an article because I don't really want to look up every case I can think of about this, it's too upsetting) but it's understandable because it's just SO CHALLENGING for people to deal with us. People would rather their kids die of measles or make unfounded claims about gut bacteria or force bleach on people than cope with the fact that their child has a disability.

Of course it's really happening, because the people who are supposed to care about us care more about not having to face the reality of our disabilities. I'm very fortunate that I have parents who did in fact care about me, and that my disability is not severe enough to warrant a care taker as an adult, but the treatment of the more vulnerable members of my community by the people who are supposed to watch out for them absolutely infuriates me.

We're disabled, not inhuman, but I guess that's too hard for some people to accept.

But for those of you specifically in the thread saying this is horrible - I see you, I thank you, I hope that you eventually have enough numbers to peer pressure the rest of society into actually caring about our well being.

I couldn't get far into that article. It just breaks my heart thinking what was going through the victim's mind as they were being killed by the very person/people who were their only chance at life. I feel like this world has become heartless and self centered and I shudder to think what could happen if I had family taking care of me that began to think that I am too much of a burden.

grimendale

I wish I were surprised. It can be tough sometimes seeing how otherwise well-meaning people, especially parents, react to the possibility that their kid could be on the spectrum. Autism Speaks has a lot of skeletons in their closet that the neurotypical parents of autistic kids I'm friends with were unaware of until I mentioned how much I detest the organization. It helped restore my faith that they were so willing to listen to someone else's first-hand perspective rather than assuming (as so many of the Warrior Moms seem to) that their intuition trumps any other information.

kgeyser

nooboots wrote: »

People are mad but the police and social services shouldnt be, why hasnt she been charged with assault?

The police are kind of limited in what they can do, they responded and referred the case to the proper channels, but the parent has a doctor who approved the treatment. So now the parent could ostensibly claim that they were following treatment prescribed by a medical doctor, which makes it difficult to charge the parent.

There are not enough available services out there for the people who need them, and even if services are available insurance doesn't always cover them. I live in a built-up area, and there were maybe 2 providers who accepted our insurance when I was looking for therapy for my daughter, and I was essentially told that an 18+ month wait for them to possibly have an opening was expected. It takes a lot of out a caregiver, and support for caregivers is also practically non-existent in a lot of places. It doesn't surprise me anymore where I read about cases like this.

Phirrgus

magicaldryope wrote: »

I'll be honest, face palm isn't precisely my reaction here. This isn't an isolated incident and it isn't new, either in bleach form or anti-vaccination hysteria or straight up murder (hey, remember when that Autism Speaks board member made a video about wanting to murder her autistic child? because I promise that the autistic community isn't about to forget that one anytime soon!)

I'm not surprised the police and protective services don't care, because all the Autism Warrior moms and the (neurotypical lead) Autism orgs make a big deal about how your kids are better off dead than one of us. We get murdered all the time by our caretakers (here have an article because I don't really want to look up every case I can think of about this, it's too upsetting) but it's understandable because it's just SO CHALLENGING for people to deal with us. People would rather their kids die of measles or make unfounded claims about gut bacteria or force bleach on people than cope with the fact that their child has a disability.

Of course it's really happening, because the people who are supposed to care about us care more about not having to face the reality of our disabilities. I'm very fortunate that I have parents who did in fact care about me, and that my disability is not severe enough to warrant a care taker as an adult, but the treatment of the more vulnerable members of my community by the people who are supposed to watch out for them absolutely infuriates me.

We're disabled, not inhuman, but I guess that's too hard for some people to accept.

But for those of you specifically in the thread saying this is horrible - I see you, I thank you, I hope that you eventually have enough numbers to peer pressure the rest of society into actually caring about our well being.

I'm echoing the others regarding that article. I couldn't read much of it and my answers to those "caretakers" would not be allowed here.

@magicaldryope Regarding the bolded, some people should never be allowed to be caretakers. Others (far too many) fear or are simply uncomfortable around anyone they don't know how to speak to for whatever reasons. My niece is about midrange on the spectrum. She just graduated high school, but at this time could not care for herself. During the past 10 years she has progressed from being traumatized whenever anyone but Mom or Dad tried to speak with her to walking up and giving me a hug and a smile when she sees me.

I believe quite a few people attribute that to the care and treatment she's received over the years, and I certainly won't minimize that, but she also deserves huge credit for stepping up and learning to function at the level she has. She is who she is, her parents fight tooth and nail for every inch of ground for her....and it's beyond me that any parent would not do the same. Some of us out here, we *do* see you and appreciate you for who you are.

kgeyser wrote: »

nooboots wrote: »

People are mad but the police and social services shouldnt be, why hasnt she been charged with assault?

The police are kind of limited in what they can do, they responded and referred the case to the proper channels, but the parent has a doctor who approved the treatment. So now the parent could ostensibly claim that they were following treatment prescribed by a medical doctor, which makes it difficult to charge the parent.

There are not enough available services out there for the people who need them, and even if services are available insurance doesn't always cover them. I live in a built-up area, and there were maybe 2 providers who accepted our insurance when I was looking for therapy for my daughter, and I was essentially told that an 18+ month wait for them to possibly have an opening was expected. It takes a lot of out a caregiver, and support for caregivers is also practically non-existent in a lot of places. It doesn't surprise me anymore where I read about cases like this.

I almost want to say the lack of care is criminal. Autistic family members aren't "checklist" items that can be put on the back burner to be caught up on at a later date. I'm a little bit at a loss for words on the situation after watching what my brother and his wife have gone through. And it's exacerbated by the fact that when they do find the care my niece needs, if insurance doesn't cover it, it's usually too expensive for them to cover. Again I'm at that loss for words....

aokoye

magicaldryope wrote: »

I'll be honest, face palm isn't precisely my reaction here. This isn't an isolated incident and it isn't new, either in bleach form or anti-vaccination hysteria or straight up murder (hey, remember when that Autism Speaks board member made a video about wanting to murder her autistic child? because I promise that the autistic community isn't about to forget that one anytime soon!)

I'm not surprised the police and protective services don't care, because all the Autism Warrior moms and the (neurotypical lead) Autism orgs make a big deal about how your kids are better off dead than one of us. We get murdered all the time by our caretakers (here have an article because I don't really want to look up every case I can think of about this, it's too upsetting) but it's understandable because it's just SO CHALLENGING for people to deal with us. People would rather their kids die of measles or make unfounded claims about gut bacteria or force bleach on people than cope with the fact that their child has a disability.

Of course it's really happening, because the people who are supposed to care about us care more about not having to face the reality of our disabilities. I'm very fortunate that I have parents who did in fact care about me, and that my disability is not severe enough to warrant a care taker as an adult, but the treatment of the more vulnerable members of my community by the people who are supposed to watch out for them absolutely infuriates me.

We're disabled, not inhuman, but I guess that's too hard for some people to accept.

But for those of you specifically in the thread saying this is horrible - I see you, I thank you, I hope that you eventually have enough numbers to peer pressure the rest of society into actually caring about our well being.

I realize this wasn't a reply directly to me, however I didn't say I was surprised, I said I was appalled. Those two feelings sometimes overlap, but not always. I'm not at all surprised that adult protective services didn't do anything for a number of reasons.

I was about to say I didn't have an example of something that wouldn't totally derail the thread, but I just thought of one. My alma mater's disability resource center (DRC) initially didn't grant me reasonable accommodations for my depression and anxiety despite having had everything filled out correctly and having documentation from multiple providers (my then psych np and then therapist). While it was appalling and illegal (in violation of the ADA) for them to have not given me those accommodations, I wasn't especially surprised. I was even less surprised when I heard similar stories. Thankfully I did eventually get those accommodations and ended up successfully filing a formal complaint against the DRC, but it was a mess.

magicaldryope

aokoye wrote: »

I realize this wasn't a reply directly to me, however I didn't say I was surprised, I said I was appalled. Those two feelings sometimes overlap, but not always. I'm not at all surprised that adult protective services didn't do anything for a number of reasons.

I was about to say I didn't have an example of something that wouldn't totally derail the thread, but I just thought of one. My alma mater's disability resource center (DRC) initially didn't grant me reasonable accommodations for my depression and anxiety despite having had everything filled out correctly and having documentation from multiple providers (my then psych np and then therapist). While it was appalling and illegal (in violation of the ADA) for them to have not given me those accommodations, I wasn't especially surprised. I was even less surprised when I heard similar stories. Thankfully I did eventually get those accommodations and ended up successfully filing a formal complaint against the DRC, but it was a mess.

My apologies. I shouldn't have gone scorched earth on your topic. I wasn't upset at you, I was upset at the situation and the reality. I'm so sorry if I exacerbated your anxiety, I'll try to be more careful in the future! I'm so glad you were able to get the help you needed, though, thank you for sharing your experiences. I hate how common this sort of dismissal is for those of us with disabilities and mental illness.

Phirrgus wrote: »

Regarding the bolded, some people should never be allowed to be caretakers. Others (far too many) fear or are simply uncomfortable around anyone they don't know how to speak to for whatever reasons. My niece is about midrange on the spectrum. She just graduated high school, but at this time could not care for herself. During the past 10 years she has progressed from being traumatized whenever anyone but Mom or Dad tried to speak with her to walking up and giving me a hug and a smile when she sees me.

I believe quite a few people attribute that to the care and treatment she's received over the years, and I certainly won't minimize that, but she also deserves huge credit for stepping up and learning to function at the level she has. She is who she is, her parents fight tooth and nail for every inch of ground for her....and it's beyond me that any parent would not do the same. Some of us out here, we *do* see you and appreciate you for who you are.

I'm so happy for your niece! Learning to manage symptoms in a sustainable way* is always a struggle, and as essentially everyone else in the thread has noted, getting help at all is a pain. Giving people hugs is a huge thing, gotta love that touch aversion.

*I have a bad tendency to want to mask, because it's the quickest way to make everyone else comfortable, but if I do that for too long I burnout hard.

kgeyser wrote: »

There are not enough available services out there for the people who need them, and even if services are available insurance doesn't always cover them. I live in a built-up area, and there were maybe 2 providers who accepted our insurance when I was looking for therapy for my daughter, and I was essentially told that an 18+ month wait for them to possibly have an opening was expected. It takes a lot of out a caregiver, and support for caregivers is also practically non-existent in a lot of places. It doesn't surprise me anymore where I read about cases like this.

Of course, yeah, caregivers deserve more support than they have. I would never suggest there isn't real stress on parents whether their children are neurotyical and able-bodied or not or people who end up having to take care of, say, aging relatives. I hope that you're able to find support!

My only real issue wrt caregivers is when the discussion around my disability is more about how hard it is for the parents of autistic children than it is about....those of us who are autistic. This is in part because so often the stress of caregiving is used as an excuse when abuse happens, but also simply because it can be a little uncomfortable to hear how hard it is to deal with people with my disability. And no offense intended there, I absolutely think parents should have their own space to complain as this is a very human need. An 18+ month wait is really horrid. Apologies if you've already done this, but have you looked at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to see if any of their resources are useful to you or your daughter?

aokoye

magicaldryope wrote: »

aokoye wrote: »

I realize this wasn't a reply directly to me, however I didn't say I was surprised, I said I was appalled. Those two feelings sometimes overlap, but not always. I'm not at all surprised that adult protective services didn't do anything for a number of reasons.

I was about to say I didn't have an example of something that wouldn't totally derail the thread, but I just thought of one. My alma mater's disability resource center (DRC) initially didn't grant me reasonable accommodations for my depression and anxiety despite having had everything filled out correctly and having documentation from multiple providers (my then psych np and then therapist). While it was appalling and illegal (in violation of the ADA) for them to have not given me those accommodations, I wasn't especially surprised. I was even less surprised when I heard similar stories. Thankfully I did eventually get those accommodations and ended up successfully filing a formal complaint against the DRC, but it was a mess.

My apologies. I shouldn't have gone scorched earth on your topic. I wasn't upset at you, I was upset at the situation and the reality. I'm so sorry if I exacerbated your anxiety, I'll try to be more careful in the future! I'm so glad you were able to get the help you needed, though, thank you for sharing your experiences. I hate how common this sort of dismissal is for those of us with disabilities and mental illness.

No worries! I honestly didn't take offense and you didn't exacerbate any my issues. I just wanted to make sure that we were on the same page. There were a lot of examples that I could think that were aligning with what you were saying, but that was the only one that didn't have the potential to derail the thread in ways that this forum disallows.

nooboots

kgeyser wrote: »

nooboots wrote: »

People are mad but the police and social services shouldnt be, why hasnt she been charged with assault?

The police are kind of limited in what they can do, they responded and referred the case to the proper channels, but the parent has a doctor who approved the treatment. So now the parent could ostensibly claim that they were following treatment prescribed by a medical doctor, which makes it difficult to charge the parent.

There are not enough available services out there for the people who need them, and even if services are available insurance doesn't always cover them. I live in a built-up area, and there were maybe 2 providers who accepted our insurance when I was looking for therapy for my daughter, and I was essentially told that an 18+ month wait for them to possibly have an opening was expected. It takes a lot of out a caregiver, and support for caregivers is also practically non-existent in a lot of places. It doesn't surprise me anymore where I read about cases like this.

Sorry for the delay but I find this website very difficult to work out where threads are.

Anyway, I am a social worker, albeit in the UK and in child protection. However no I would not have left it there, I would have requested information from the doctor and their manager/safeguarding team to explain the 'authorisation'.

I will go out on a - controversial - limb here and say that its extremely unlikely a GP in the uk would authorise such a thing but of course you can never say never and we've had our own mad medical professionals (and murderers in fact) within health care.
A private doctor is a different kettle of fish of course but I would have pushed and challenged it.

Phirrgus

nooboots wrote: »

kgeyser wrote: »

nooboots wrote: »

People are mad but the police and social services shouldnt be, why hasnt she been charged with assault?

The police are kind of limited in what they can do, they responded and referred the case to the proper channels, but the parent has a doctor who approved the treatment. So now the parent could ostensibly claim that they were following treatment prescribed by a medical doctor, which makes it difficult to charge the parent.

There are not enough available services out there for the people who need them, and even if services are available insurance doesn't always cover them. I live in a built-up area, and there were maybe 2 providers who accepted our insurance when I was looking for therapy for my daughter, and I was essentially told that an 18+ month wait for them to possibly have an opening was expected. It takes a lot of out a caregiver, and support for caregivers is also practically non-existent in a lot of places. It doesn't surprise me anymore where I read about cases like this.

Sorry for the delay but I find this website very difficult to work out where threads are.

Anyway, I am a social worker, albeit in the UK and in child protection. However no I would not have left it there, I would have requested information from the doctor and their manager/safeguarding team to explain the 'authorisation'.

I will go out on a - controversial - limb here and say that its extremely unlikely a GP in the uk would authorise such a thing but of course you can never say never and we've had our own mad medical professionals (and murderers in fact) within health care.
A private doctor is a different kettle of fish of course but I would have pushed and challenged it.

Charlatans are held accountable here when pursued and exposed:
https://www.newsweek.com/herbalist-who-cured-cancer-herbs-charged-death-after-treating-boys-diabetes-836132

It just doesn't happen often enough in my opinion. I was horrified when I saw the article that I posted in the OP, even more so when made aware that the problem (dangerous fads) is so much larger than I even had any idea about...

Whether it's a question of resources, connections, money, negligence or simply not caring, it's reprehensible and I can only hope that younger, fresher minds in the years to come are able to forward working solutions.

nooboots

Phirrgus wrote: »

nooboots wrote: »

kgeyser wrote: »

nooboots wrote: »

People are mad but the police and social services shouldnt be, why hasnt she been charged with assault?

The police are kind of limited in what they can do, they responded and referred the case to the proper channels, but the parent has a doctor who approved the treatment. So now the parent could ostensibly claim that they were following treatment prescribed by a medical doctor, which makes it difficult to charge the parent.

There are not enough available services out there for the people who need them, and even if services are available insurance doesn't always cover them. I live in a built-up area, and there were maybe 2 providers who accepted our insurance when I was looking for therapy for my daughter, and I was essentially told that an 18+ month wait for them to possibly have an opening was expected. It takes a lot of out a caregiver, and support for caregivers is also practically non-existent in a lot of places. It doesn't surprise me anymore where I read about cases like this.

Sorry for the delay but I find this website very difficult to work out where threads are.

Anyway, I am a social worker, albeit in the UK and in child protection. However no I would not have left it there, I would have requested information from the doctor and their manager/safeguarding team to explain the 'authorisation'.

I will go out on a - controversial - limb here and say that its extremely unlikely a GP in the uk would authorise such a thing but of course you can never say never and we've had our own mad medical professionals (and murderers in fact) within health care.
A private doctor is a different kettle of fish of course but I would have pushed and challenged it.

Charlatans are held accountable here when pursued and exposed:
https://www.newsweek.com/herbalist-who-cured-cancer-herbs-charged-death-after-treating-boys-diabetes-836132

It just doesn't happen often enough in my opinion. I was horrified when I saw the article that I posted in the OP, even more so when made aware that the problem (dangerous fads) is so much larger than I even had any idea about...

Whether it's a question of resources, connections, money, negligence or simply not caring, it's reprehensible and I can only hope that younger, fresher minds in the years to come are able to forward working solutions.

Yes we have plenty of our own charlatans too.

I dont know about younger fresher minds though, anyone can be susceptible to conspiracy theories. I interviewed a parent today in fact who is into the anti vaxxing theories and used this as an excuse as to why their children hadnt been vaccinated.

Phirrgus

nooboots wrote: »

Phirrgus wrote: »

nooboots wrote: »

kgeyser wrote: »

nooboots wrote: »

People are mad but the police and social services shouldnt be, why hasnt she been charged with assault?

The police are kind of limited in what they can do, they responded and referred the case to the proper channels, but the parent has a doctor who approved the treatment. So now the parent could ostensibly claim that they were following treatment prescribed by a medical doctor, which makes it difficult to charge the parent.

There are not enough available services out there for the people who need them, and even if services are available insurance doesn't always cover them. I live in a built-up area, and there were maybe 2 providers who accepted our insurance when I was looking for therapy for my daughter, and I was essentially told that an 18+ month wait for them to possibly have an opening was expected. It takes a lot of out a caregiver, and support for caregivers is also practically non-existent in a lot of places. It doesn't surprise me anymore where I read about cases like this.

Sorry for the delay but I find this website very difficult to work out where threads are.

Anyway, I am a social worker, albeit in the UK and in child protection. However no I would not have left it there, I would have requested information from the doctor and their manager/safeguarding team to explain the 'authorisation'.

I will go out on a - controversial - limb here and say that its extremely unlikely a GP in the uk would authorise such a thing but of course you can never say never and we've had our own mad medical professionals (and murderers in fact) within health care.
A private doctor is a different kettle of fish of course but I would have pushed and challenged it.

Charlatans are held accountable here when pursued and exposed:
https://www.newsweek.com/herbalist-who-cured-cancer-herbs-charged-death-after-treating-boys-diabetes-836132

It just doesn't happen often enough in my opinion. I was horrified when I saw the article that I posted in the OP, even more so when made aware that the problem (dangerous fads) is so much larger than I even had any idea about...

Whether it's a question of resources, connections, money, negligence or simply not caring, it's reprehensible and I can only hope that younger, fresher minds in the years to come are able to forward working solutions.

Yes we have plenty of our own charlatans too.

I dont know about younger fresher minds though, anyone can be susceptible to conspiracy theories. I interviewed a parent today in fact who is into the anti vaxxing theories and used this as an excuse as to why their children hadnt been vaccinated.

Don't take away my hope for our future ok?

You're correct of course, but I'm (sometimes) unrealistically optimistic.