Science Advocacy
Science Advocacy
The bad science: Miracle Autism Cures
What do they claim? They claim to “cure” Autism
Are they trying to sell you something? Of course they are…
Is any of this true? Nope. Let’s start out by making it clear that there is no cure for autism. Anyone telling you they have a cure is lying. It’s also important to note that autism is an extremely varied condition. Symptoms can range from mild difficulties with social interaction to repetitive or obsessive behaviors, all the way to severe communication issues. Curing any one of these symptoms is generally not possible, let alone curing the entire constellation of autistic behaviors.
Welcome to Ask a Scientist, where we answer questions from our readers on a wide range of scientific topics. Got a scientific question? Drop us an line.
I read on the internet that there are dangerous levels of a toxic weed killer in many common vaccines. Is this true? Should I be worried? – Rebecca T., Wilton, CT.
Great question to start off our Ask a Scientist series, Rebecca. Here are the facts:
This claim was posted online by a group called Mom’s Across America (or MAA, which is the guttural noise of frustration that I make after reading their website). I’m not linking to their site because it contains biased anti-GMO, anti-chemical info while also conveniently selling their own line of homeopathic health supplements. They sell a product for “mineral health”, which is not a thing, and it contains “72 essential trance minerals.” Mind you they don’t say what these essential minerals are, nor do they address the fact that there are less then 20 scientifically accepted essential minerals. I think you get the point.
I’ll start by introducing myself and trying to explain why on earth you would trust my opinion. I live in California. I have a Ph.D. in environmental and molecular toxicology. I studied the effects of environmental contaminants on fetal and neonatal health as an academic. I now work in biotech, and it is my job to assess the safety of drugs prior to testing in humans. I don’t work on vaccines currently, and the company I work for does not produce or profit from any pediatric vaccines. I do, however, assess safety for a living, and I am very familiar with how the safety of vaccines is determined.
There is another reason I have educated myself on this topic. I have an autistic daughter.
