A number of desperate parents are being conned into giving their autistic children harmful chemicals to drink in an attempt to cure them.
An investigation by the Sunday People found that at least six police forces across the UK have questioned families over allegations of giving their children - some as young as two - the poisonous chemicals.
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A number of websites and Facebook groups were found to be selling discredited 'miracle' cures. One closed Facebook group was offering a 'Miracle' or 'Master Mineral Solution' (MMS) to parents as a 'cure' for autism.
But MMS is actually a powerful cocktail of harsh chemicals - mixing sodium chlorite with citric acid powder creating a super-strength bleach, which can cause diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration. The formula is being sold for £30 ($42.50) on websites in the UK.
The paper found another closed Facebook group for parents which, inaccurately, claims that autism is caused by parasites and can be 'cleansed' by a treatment of CD (chloride dioxide) which is either drunk or given via an enema.
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A doctor has now come forward to warn parents about this 'remedies', which he says will end up killing children.
Dr Jeff Foster told the Sunday People: "Autism is a neuro-developmental disease which is not amenable to any form of tablet treatment. It's developed in the womb or early stages of life. You can't just reverse it and anyone claiming that does not understand the condition.
"When you have very extreme measures like this to 'cure' a condition, it's just a roulette game. Eventually someone will die. It's only a matter of time."
Both the Food Standards Agency and Medical Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency have warned people not to use the 'treatments'.
The paper found that one of the people
selling MMS, who calls himself an 'expert', was actually a former drug addict
with no known medical qualifications. Twenty-nine-year old Danny Glass also
offers 'health coaching' for around £70 ($99) for an hour-long Skype session.
Emma Dalmayne, an autisms campaigner, told the paper she has been fighting a battle against the use of MMS and says that images parents are sharing of 'proof' of parasites leaving their child's body are actually portions of the bowel lining that have been burned away by the strong chemicals.
Emma, who has five children with autism, said: "When I first read about MMS I didn't think it possible that parents would feed their own children a bleach solution - let alone give them enemas with it.
"I felt disgusted and sickened. No parents will admit to doing this to their children publicly. This treatment is not illegal at the moment but we need to get rid of it."
She has set up a petition to make such 'cures' illegal - you can sign it here.
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Source: The Sunday People
Featured Image Credit: SWNS / Joe Loon (Creative Commons)