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A u t I s M : F I R s t P e R s o n P e R s P e C t I v e s Fighting for Our Children: Advocacy in the Age of By BernarD rimLanD, pH.D. (Dr. rimLanD wroTe THiS arTiCLe BeFore HiS paSSinG in novemBer 2006)
When I first began studying autism, after the cure “incurable” children and to prevent future the DAn! movement now is so popular that 1956 birth of my son Mark, who has autism, children from ever developing autism.
our institute cannot train doctors fast enough every textbook and every doctor said the the first signs of this revolution appeared to meet the needs of thousands of parents same thing: “Recovery doesn’t happen.” they in letters I received, beginning in the ‘60s and were wrong about just about everything else, ‘70s, from parents who reported that a range their children. typical y, these parents aren’t but they were right about that one fact —at of seemingly odd and unscientific approaches hearing about the success of DAn! from their the time, autism was a “hopeless” diagnosis.
had helped their children greatly. these family doctors. Instead they’re hearing about it approaches included high-dose vitamin B6, from other parents—a new generation of moms autism are hearing the same prognosis: “your yeast-free diets, and gluten- and casein-free and dads, and sometimes grandmothers and child will never recover. Be realistic. Autism is diets. At the same time, other parents were grandfathers—who are leading the way to new an inborn, genetic disease with no effective reporting that their formerly typical children became autistic, sometimes literally overnight, this revolution, like the past two, faces after receiving vaccines, or that antibiotics, tremendous opposition. vaccine manufactur- food additives and other chemicals exacer- ers wil not wil ingly admit that their products bated their children’s autistic symptoms.
could be the cause of a devastating epidemic Revolutions in Autism I was highly skeptical of these reports at affecting mil ions of children worldwide. first. As a mainstream psychologist, I initial y Pharmaceutical companies have a huge stake What changed between the 1960s and today? considered it ludicrous that environmental in making us believe that autism cannot be three revolutions occurred, and all involved insults could cause autism, or that a vitamin or a cured but can only be treated by drugs that special diet could help with symptoms. But my suppress symptoms. traditional doctors, con- the first successful battle, which began own research over several decades validated ditioned to think of autism as a genetic disease with the publication of my book Infantile these parents’ claims, and I realized that they and to view chelation, nutritional therapies and Autism in 1964, was the fight to end the reign were far closer to finding real answers about special diets as “quackery,” wil try to dissuade of psychogenic (“blame the mom”) psychiatry, autism, and real treatments for the disorder, than parents from exploring such approaches, and which claimed that only psychotherapy could mainstream medicine ever would be. I also will punish the doctors who advocate them.
help children with autism. the medical estab- realized that in order to benefit today’s children, so once again, it is up to parents to lead lishment accepted the psychiatrists’ approach, we needed to obtain answers even faster.
the revolution—and we have not one but two and offered no alternative (other than prescrip- battles to fight. the first is the battle to obtain tions for haldol, an antipsychotic drug). It was safe, effective, biological y based treatments parents—armed with the knowledge that no for our sons and daughters, and to obtain In response, ARI called together a think tank of answers about the environmental toxins that treatment for autism—who said, “enough!” and exceptionally competent and open-minded phy- have damaged them. the second is the larger demanded real treatments for their children.
sicians and scientists interested in identifying safe battle to create a safer and saner world for all and effective treatments for autism, and in pin- of our children, and generations to come, by which parents learned about, and demanded pointing the environmental culprits behind what removing the environmental insults—mercury, access to, the remarkably effective teaching had by then become an epidemic. We convened lead, PCBs, pesticides, food dyes and additives, techniques (now known as applied behavior the first Defeat Autism now! (DAn!) conference nutrient-stripped food—that are damaging the analysis, or ABA) pioneered by Ivar Lovaas. in Dallas in 1995, inviting approximately 30 physi- bodies and minds of entire generations. It will experts initially scoffed at the idea that cians and scientists from the united states and not be an easy fight. But if there is anything we children with autism who hadn’t responded to europe with special expertise in autism research learn as parents of children with autism, it is that powerful drugs and years of psychoanalysis and treatment. several participants, including me, the toughest battles are the most important, and could be helped by something as simple and were parents of children with autism, and under- straightforward as behavior modification. stood all too well the need for urgency.
But it is the third parent revolution, which began in the 1960s and now is reaching ma- and planted the seeds for the DAn! movement, Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., was the direc- turity, that will arm us with the most powerful which now includes many hundreds of physi- tor of the Autism Research Institute tools to fight autism. that revolution began cians and scientists worldwide—many of them (ARI) in San Diego, and the founder when parents started recognizing that the vast also parents of children with autism. these of the Autism Society of America. He majority of children with autism are not pro- doctors are using chelation therapy, special also was the director of ARI’s Defeat grammed from conception to be disabled, but diets and nutritional supplements to correct the Autism Now! (DAN!) project, and the rather are genetically vulnerable to environ- damage done by vaccines, toxins and dietary co-author (with Stephen M. Edelson) mental insults that trigger their autism, and that deficiencies, and the result is nothing short of of Recovering Autistic Children. For when we address these environmental insults incredible: thousands of children are getting information about ARI and DAN!, visit and the damage they cause, we can begin to better, and many of them are being cured.

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