Comments on: Dateline Special on the “cure” of chelation

By: New Study on Heavy Metal Toxicity and Detoxification By…….

New Study on Heavy Metal Toxicity and Detoxification By……. — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:32:25 +0000

[...] professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Arizona State University; he was interviewed in a 2006 Dateline special on chelation. Vitamin Diagnostics, which another author, Tapan Audhyaf, is affiliated with, is located in [...]

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 01:24:51 +0000

Thanks, SquareGirl---the tone of the Dateline commentary struck me as sensationalizing. Joseph at Natural Variation posted this.

By: squaregirl

squaregirl — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 00:10:41 +0000

Hi Kristina,
I am anxious to see this special and how the situation is portrayed, because well, I know one of the children who is going to be featured on the special and I am quite curious about what the standard was to designate this child as “recovered” or “Cured”. Gosh, I think I might have a lot to say after I see it, but I have a lot of feelings and concerns that i will refrain from speaking about until I actually see it.

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 16:52:40 +0000

Thanks, María—–the commentary by Ms. Gleysteen struck me as having the air of promoting the positive effects seen in some children from chelation without addressing the larger criticisms. LIke you, while it is tough to see Charlie struggle, we love him at every single moment—and even all the more because he struggles.

No cure needed for that.

By: María Luján

María Luján — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 16:40:29 +0000

Hi Kristina
I have also very big problems with the word “cure”. In my personal understanding, this is the most controversial position, and it is not a semantic problem only. It is a whole attitude, that for some implies that acceptance or love without conditions is not part of the fact of being a parent of autistic child.
Chelation is the treatment of heavy metal poisoning, if present in autistic children and confirmed under trustable tests in trustable labs under the advice of trustable doctors, for me. IF some of all these conditions is not met, I have very big concerns about the application of this therapy.
You can test , detect and treat a lot of medical conditions in an autistic child… but this does not mean to see your autistic child like a collection of medical problems or a problem.

You can see autism with an inherent genetic component and with an extrinsic component related to the interaction of genetics with the environment… but this does not imply to neglect your autistic child´s soul or his/her unique importance in your life. Autism does not conditionates love for my autistic child ( in fact nothing conditionates it).

You can fight for proper medical treatments…. But this does not imply that you will harm your child “to cure” the autism with everything you can find. You can fight for life quality and improvements and have a lot of expectations… because you can have the best of both worlds. Happiness in this sense is an election.

María Luján