I've looked at the website and also viewed a medical presentation given by this doctor. It's long and quite technical, but you can find it at tarzanacme(dot)com/video.aspx?Vid=158 (I can't post the actual link).
It seems that all that is being suggested is that doctors consider the possibility that a child has a medical issue - often an immune-related problem - before labelling with 'autism'. He is trying to educate the medical profession to treat this from a medical perspective first by doing some workups, and encourages patients to try immune-boosting diet and other treatments. He also suggests that some medications (anti-psychotics, etc.) given to autistic children can be harmful and much more diligence and other, less harmful treatments, should be undertaken before prescribing. He's also trying to encourage more research into immune-related medications.
How can anyone think this is a bad thing, or 'quackery'? I'll tell you what's quackery - the psychologist who, after 6 hours of primarily intelligence-related assessment, 'diagnosed' my 8 year old daughter with Aspergers without any real impairment in her symptoms (we went because she was presenting as depressed). Then, after I explained that she did not have any symptoms other than some social skill deficits, backing off and saying it was PDD-NOS, then shortly thereafter saying she did not even have PDD.. it was just a 'possibility'. It is shocking to me that anyone who calls themselves a doctor can label so flippantly. This really is a disservice. I would think that anyone who suffers from true 'impairment' would support a doctor who recommends a more holistic, thorough approach before diagnosis. The alternative - that real medical issues are being missed because of a convenient, brush-off diagnosis of millions of children - is just intolerable.
I am sure this community has seen many quacks come and go and is legitimately skeptical, but I do hope that skepticism doesn't get in the way of otherwise reasonable assertions.
Please note that prior to this post I had never heard of this doctor or of this theory, but it was very informative and enlightening to me, not just from the perspective of autism but of our entire medical system and approaches. Thank you.
Marie