The 2024 Legal Defense Fundraiser has ended early due to the Board's decision to settle the suit. Donations will go towards the creation of a legal defense fund. Discussion on the matter can be found at the RationalMedia Foundation noticeboard. Thank you for your generous support.
CEASE therapy
Against allopathy Alternative medicine |
![]() |
Clinically unproven |
Woo-meisters |
CEASE therapy, which stands for Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression, is a pseudoscientific therapy for autism. As if its name didn't sound dystopian enough, it contains extreme doses of vitamin C, under the rubric of orthomolecular medicine, enough to cause diarrhea and fever.
Some of its proponents also claim it can help with ADHD.[1]
Nonsense
"Toxins" from vaccines
CEASE therapy starts with the (repeatedly) scientifically debunked premise that vaccines cause autism. It then presents itself as a solution to "detox" autistic kids.[2]
Side effects
“”Eliminations like diarrhea, flu, expectoration, and bad-smelling and cloudy urine should also be left alone, because they are a part of the healing process.
|
—Inventor Tinus Smits[3] |
Exposure to CEASE therapy can cause children to suffer fever, diarrhea, and other signs of illness.
Some of the alleged "cure" of CEASE therapy may be from the fever effect, a poorly-understood phenomenon in which autistic people tend to be calmer and more communicative when they have a fever. Researchers are still studying the effect and developing treatment options such as sulforaphane supplements (though these currently have issues with side effects).[4] It does NOT mean that you should make your child sick.
Cure
Autism is a lifelong neurological difference that's predominantly genetic. There's no "curing" autism,[5] only providing therapy and support (which can make a big difference). And quality support is often not about "eliminating" autism, but helping the person lead an autistic-friendly lifestyle. But proponents of CEASE therapy take advantage of unsuspecting parents to lure them into an unwinnable war against their child's own brain.
The UK Advertising Standards Agency has cracked down on CEASE "therapists" for making false claims about curing autism.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ UK ad body warns firm to CEASE misleading autism cure claims for homeopathy - Nutra Ingredients
- ↑ CEASE therapy for autism: Homeopathic quackery and "self regulation" by naturopathic boards - Science-Based Medicine
- ↑ More than 120 homeopaths trying to 'cure' autism in UK - The Guardian
- ↑ The fever effect - Embrace ASD
- ↑ Autism Cure Cease Therapy Can Seriously Harm Children, Watchdog Warns - Tech Times
- ↑ Advertising watchdog rules fake autism 'cure' adverts must stop - BBC News
You can help RationalWiki by expanding it.