It is a shame that Dr. Fitzpatrick claims to have tried "all forms of
intervention" with his
son, but later says that he has NOT tried chelating him! And then states that
evaluations
have not been made?

Oh NO? What about heavy metal tests before, during and after successful
chelations...corresponding with dramatic improvements in a child's symptoms???
We have
people like that. Just ask Dr. Rashid Buttar! Or any of dozens of parents I've
met!

The truth is that Dr. Fitzpatrick is just taking the "safe," mainstream road of
thought for
not knowing better. We should get him into a DAN! conference!

Erik
http://www.autismmedia.org/

--- In EOHarm@yahoogroups.com, "Angela Medlin" <angelamedlin@n...> wrote:
>
>
> His reply to my email:
>
> Dear Angela
>
> I am delighted to hear that your son's condition has improved. I wish I
>
> could say the same about my severely autistic son, whose condition has
>
> continued to deteriorate despite all forms of intervention. One of the many
>
> mysteries of children with autistic spectrum disorders is that their level
>
> of functioning fluctuates over time for reasons that are simply not
>
> understood (and little is understood about autism). If a deterioration
>
> coincides with immunisation or some other event, it is understandable that
>
> parents should make a connection; if their improvement coincides with some
>
> intervention, whether in the form of a school or behavioural program, a
>
> special diet or some form of medication or other treatment, it is also not
>
> surprising that parents attribute the improvement to the intervention.
>
> However, before any such treatments are recommended for children, I believe
>
> that it is important that some basic evaluations are made - to try to
>
> establish whether they really are effective, and also to establish whether
>
> they are safe. Neither has been done with mercury chelation treatment so I
>
> would be very wary of using it or recommending it. You only have to look at
>
> the history of autism treatments to see how they come and go and many
>
> parents have experienced dramatic results with all sorts of treatments -
>
> such as secretin - that have now been discredited (or shown to be
>
> positively harmful, like 'holding therapy', or various drug regimes). In my
>
> experience desperate parents are vulnerable to claims of wonder cures that
>
> are likely to exhaust their reserves of energy and hope (not to mention
>
> money) and ultimately leave them disappointed.
>
> I'm sorry if you found my review upsetting, but I believe that the
>
> anti-mercury campaign is not based on sound science and is likely to cause
>
> more harm than good.
>
> I sincerely hope that your child continues to improve (though I doubt
>
> whether this will have anything to do with mercury).
>
> Best wishes
>
> Mike