Unchelated Autistics "Just Lost"??? · Dec 30, 08:45 PM

On Monday afternoon, I sent the following letter to the editor of the Washington Times regarding the matter previously discussed in Mr. Olmsted’s Lump of Coal.

To the Editor,

In his December 23 article, Gold Salts Pass A Test, Dan Olmsted quotes Boyd Haley’s callous, gratuitous, unsubstantiated statement, “these older kids are just lost” – implying that autistic-spectrum adolescents not chelated to remove toxic metals, or for whom chelation has not been beneficial, are beyond hope, incapable of successful maturation. This quote originally appeared on August 29, in Gold Salts to be Tested. Haley’s promotion of chelation to parents of autistic children is fueled with urgency, predictions of doom, and disparagement of autistic individuals “unsaved” by chelation. His “just lost” comment does not contribute to understanding of autism, but provides dramatic effect to the detriment of autistic individuals. One might not fault Olmsted for initially reporting Haley’s comment; a journalist cannot be expected to exclude from his articles every thoughtless remark made by an interviewee. However, his further propagation of this pointless slur appears not in original reportage, but in a year-end summary of his coverage of autism from the perspective of vaccine-injury litigants, critics of vaccination and their supporters – little more than a mating call to the Pulitzer committee.

Shame on Boyd Haley for insulting my autistic-spectrum family members, and shame on Dan Olmsted for broadcasting that insult again.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Seidel

Now, on this penultimate day of 2005, Mr. Olmsted has issued yet another rehash of his and Professor Haley’s speculations about the potential of gold salts as a cure for autism. In this latest article, Olmsted quotes Haley as saying:

“Don’t jump on this. Be careful. You can hurt kids,” Haley told us before he began his test of gold salts. Even after it reversed the binding of mercury to molecules, Haley cautioned: “The last thing the autism associations need is a bad experience on treating an autistic child…”

I find it quite telling that Professor Haley here expresses concern not for the welfare of autistic people themselves, but for the public image of “autism associations”—presumably those associations promoting chelation to parents seeking to reverse their children’s autism, in spite of the fact that not a single scientific study exists proving that chelation can transform an autistic person to a neurologically typical state. It is also telling that both he and Mr. Olmsted fail to mention that “a bad experience on treating an autistic child” did in fact occur in the year 2005—the death of five-year-old Tariq Nadama during intravenous chelation. Although the results of the boy’s autopsy have not yet been reported in the press, it is entirely reasonable to conclude that an invasive medical procedure using chemicals specifically intended to draw minerals from the body—in this instance calcium, essential for cardiac function—played a role in precipitating Tariq’s death.

May Tariq not be forgotten in 2006.

Comments


  1. It was chilling after Tariq’s death to read the responses to it on the Evidence of Harm maillist. The first 20 or so responses to the original post expressed sympathy for Roy Kerry and/or worried how this would make people percieve chelation. Ironically, it wasn’t until several hours later that JB Handley was the first person to actually express sadness for Tariq.

    In that context, Haley’s comments don’t surprise me in the least. He’s shown many times that he has a total disrespect for anyone who happens to be autistic. — Kev    Dec 31, 07:27 AM    #

  2. I was floored by the initial responses, too, especially the rush by chelation promoters to turn the tragedy into yet another opportunity to castigate the usual demons, with comments like, "It's really going to hurt chelation efforts, I'm afraid, but should point the finger at CDC/IOM/FDA for not doing chelation studies to help our kids." (Obviously, Dr. Kerry, Dr. Usman, Dr. Buttar and their chelation-selling colleagues don't think it's all that important to conduct rigorous studies prior to marketing the procedure to parents of autistic children.) Even the belated expression of sadness for Tariq rang hollow to me, accompanied as it was by statements such as, "Tariq is a true soldier in the struggle", and "This tragedy has received national attention, ensuring that Tariq's death was not in vain. It has brought attention to the autism community and the debate surrounding chelation therapy." Tariq was not a soldier, he was a little boy named Tariq who was being treated to make him less like Tariq, and now there's no Tariq at all. The suggestion that his death was "not in vain" because it helped the autism=poisoning movement get publicity makes me ill. — Kathleen Seidel    Dec 31, 12:29 PM    #

  3. Tariq died over four months ago and the autopsy report was promised in three months. Something fishy is going on here. — TheProbe    Jan 3, 09:56 AM    #

  4. According to the August 25 article in the Post-Gazette, Boy Dies During Autism Treatment
    Marwa Nadama said yesterday she did not want to comment except to say that she is not blaming chelation for her son’s death, at least not at this point. “Let’s wait until we have the results of the autopsy,� she said. An autopsy conducted yesterday on the child’s body by the Allegheny County coroner’s office was inconclusive. Results on the cause and manner of death are pending additional testing which could take up to five months to complete, authorities said.

    On August 26, the UK Telegraph reported that:
    Larry Barr, Butler County’s deputy coroner, said that when Abubakar went into cardiac arrest, Dr Roy Kerry, who was treating him, and his staff attempted resuscitation. He was then transferred to the Butler Memorial Hospital, near Pittsburgh, where he died. An autopsy has been conducted but the results will not be known for several weeks.

    So, the autopsy was conducted on August 24, about four and a half months ago. Enough time has passed for interpretation of the results of the initial autopsy, and almost enough for interpretation of the results of whatever additional tests were needed. It’s just about time for Larry Barr to tell the public what he’s learned about the cause of Tariq’s death.

    I believe that the family has returned to England, though I don’t remember where I read that. I hope that the Pennsylvania authorities will continue to investigate the matter, even if the parents decline to press charges against the doctor. Children’s lives are at stake. — Kathleen Seidel    Jan 3, 10:35 AM    #

  5. It’s too bad there wasn’t an organized effort to get people to “light a candleâ€? and observe a moment of silence for Tariq. No, they might have to explain to their autistic children in the home that the candle is for the “little soldierâ€? who died being chelated by parents who would do just about anything to make him not autistic….no doubt under the influence of American “autism organizations,â€? the ones Boyd Haley is so anxious to protect. EoHarm almost did a redux of this with the death of Liz Birt, which was sad, no doubt, but the near death of the teenage son of the driver (her fiance, they say) has received little attention. Talk about handicapped, he must have some brain injury, and his whole chest was crushed. How’d any parent like to have their child in that ICU on a ventilator? The boy probably has a mom. I know a teen that was hurt in a car accident and lived in the regular hospital for more than a year, they couldn’t move him to a convalescent home because he needed such a great level of care. The poor parents of the boy in the car with Elizabeth Birt, how’d you like to be his dad? — Eisenwein    Jan 5, 01:41 AM    #

  6. Here’s the follow-up from the autopsy. Yes, Tariq’s unnecessary and tragic death was a direct consequence of chelation.

    Seems to me that unchelated autistics are “just alive,â€? and should all be allowed the opportunity to grow, change, and develop, just like other human beings. Spare us this latest in a long series of bogus “curesâ€?. — Dave Seidel    Jan 6, 02:22 PM    #

  7. Poor Tariq. His life story has a similar feel to it as this one book I’ve been wanting to read about a gay kid who committed suicide after unsuccessful attempts to cure him (the book is written by his mother, who wishes she’d accepted him for who he was). Both were unintentionally killed by well-meaning parents who didn’t accept them for who they were. — Ettina    Feb 7, 01:07 PM    #