DAN doctors. Chelation. Let's talk about this.

Since I have been back to Malaysia, I have come to realize that biomedical treatment in Malaysia is a huge treatment of choice for autism. I am very surprised and deeply saddened by this.

Firstly, let me start by stating that Autism is a diagnosis that is diagnosed and defined behaviorally. When a pediatrician looks to diagnosis a child with autism, the pediatrician observes a child's behavior, conducts formal and informal assessments and makes conclusions based on those evaluations in place. There are no blood test, saliva swabs, MRI's etc involved in the diagnosis of autism. The cause for autism is unknown.

So the dilemma is this, when choosing a treatment for you child, what should a parent do? In Malaysia, there is still no organization to date that supplies parents with information on autism treatment. So, finding the correct treatment for your child becomes even more difficult. The thing about treatments is this, there are many treatments out there for autism but the effectiveness to each treatment is always not clear. It is not always based on evidence, outcomes and science. Instead it is a form of pseudo science. Parents really have to research and that's why we have google !! It is an amazing tool, and we should feel very empowered to use it. No knowledge is better than the knowledge we learn ourselves. The more we know, the better it is for our children. There are several things to look out for that we call red flags in regards to those ineffective treatments,

1) Most pseudo scientific/fad treatment claim to "cure" autism: the main problem with this is that there is not cure for autism.

2) Caregivers are not provided with a whole lot of training.

3) Non-individualized treatment: the problem with this is that autism affects each child differently and one single general treatment that is not individualized, will not yield effective results because each child is different.

4) Effectiveness of treatments are usually based on testimonials and case studies: the problem with this is that there are no evidence to back up claims therefore making the treatment questionable. 

Let's use an analogy, if you were trying to lose weight,and had to choose a method of treatment, 1) diet and exercise (proven to work and yield results) or 2) random weight loss pills ( supported by mostly testimonials you see on tv). What would you choose for yourself? I would hope it would be 1, because choosing diet and exercise not only will treat your weight loss, it will also improve your quality of life. Therefore, to relate this back to autism, choosing a fad treatment or a treatment that is not effective will only be a waste of time, money, and always remember that wasted time can never be returned. Time is important when it comes to treating autism, the faster we treat with a treatment that valid, the faster we see results. Lastly, choosing an effective treatment will improve the quality of your child's life.

So what are some fad treatments out there?

1) DAN doctors: DAN doctors claim that autism is the result of biomedical factors such as toxins and immune system deficiencies. DAN doctors often prescribe treatments and diets that mainstream doctors and scientists do not usually agree with.  Till date, there are no published evidence there are or  research studies supporting the effectiveness DAN doctors. In addition, many of the techniques practiced by DAN physicians are considered to be harmful by the medical community, for example, chelation therapy. Lastly, DAN doctors, only have to attend one day workshops to get certified. Wouldn't you want a specialist to do more than that for your child? Where is the peer reviewed research? and Where is it published that autism is caused by immune system deficiencies?

2) Chelation therapy: Chelation was used to treat autism in the early 1980s. It claims to stop further damage that is caused by mercury poisoning. They basically remove these foreign metals by IV or oral medication. Chelation is used in the medical community to treat lead poisiong or any other heavy metal poisionong. There is no evidence to support that autism is caused by heavy metal poisoning, therefore making chelation therapy a big NO NO in the treatment for autism. In 2008, research on chelation was stopped due to dangers associaiated with the treatment. The cause for autism is unknow, it is not caused by heavy metal poisoning, therefore chelation is not a good treatment for autism. There is no published evidence to date to support that chelation "cures" autism. This leads up to the third point, which is autism and mercury.

3) This is from the Association for Science in Autism Treatment website, mercury in vaccines do not cause autism. Which further proves that chelation is not a good treatment for your child

National Organizations and their positions on Vaccines:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)	"Many studies have looked at whether there is a relationship between vaccines and autism. The weight of the evidence indicates that vaccines are not associated with autism."18
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)	"There is no conclusive evidence that any part of a vaccine or combination of vaccines causes autism, even though researchers have done many studies to answer this important question. There is also no proof that any material used to make or preserve the vaccine plays a role in causing autism. Although there have been reports of studies that relate vaccines to autism, these findings have not held up under further investigation."19
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)	"Scientific data does not show a link between vaccines and autism."20

Parents, my advice to you is to please do your research. If you need help, please don't hesistate to email me for information. I will provide you with all the help I can get. Remember, time wasted in treatment cannot be returned. Always look for evidence based practices that present peer-reviewed articles/research that can be replicable. Last but not least, always question who claims the treatment will help?

Please please please, email me with questions or go on asat website for more information http://www.asatonline.org/treatment/treatment.htm Choosing the right treatment will only help increase the quality of your child's life. Help yourself be informed.