Defeating Autism: A Damaging Delusion

In August 2005, a five-year old British boy with autism died while undergoing chelation therapy in the USA. Chelation is one of a range of biomedical treatments based on the theory that autism is caused by environmental toxins, such as mercury, derived from vaccines or other sources. Virtually no scientific authority accepts either that such toxins cause autism or claims that biomedical treatments are effective but biomedical theories of autism can offer a plausible explanation of the supposed autism epidemic. So, do they work and are they safe? Here Dr Fitzpatrick, himself the father of an autistic boy, investigates the evidence around a number of supposed causes (toxins, leaky gut and immunity/allergy theories), diagnostic tests (such as looking for measles in the gut) and treatments (diets, hormonal therapies and chelation among others). He concludes that the scientific evidence for biomedical treatments is alarmingly shaky and argues that the way forward lies through the acceptance of our children as they are and in the quest to improve the quality of their lives - a quest in which biomedical treatments are at best a distraction and at worst a danger. This compelling book is essential reading for students and professionals in the world of autism as well as academics concerned with the public understanding of science and the treatment of scientific and medical controversies in the media.