TV documentary (trigger warning)

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Perhaps you may be aware of the MMS (Miracle Mineral Solution) scandal that is making waves around the world, where parents are using a highly controversial bleach formula to "cure" their kids from autism, by either giving it to them orally or tubing it in via enema.

A documentary was planned to address this after it made headlines in South Africa. However, it seemed the journalist got stuck at the first parent/therapist/seller of MMS that she spoke to and ended up making the documentary on how desperate parents are using it and the benefits they are seeing. It is also just portraying the most dreadful, awful image of autism and, well, you'll see. Don't watch it if you are not feeling strong - it is very draining and enraging and immensely saddening at times as we know, there are better ways, and you can see the suffering of kids and young adults in some scenes, being subject to hours of "therapy" and some triggering scenes of suppressed stimming with obvious stress to the autistic.

This is, of course, shockingly poor journalism but the documentary aired last Sunday and activist groups are livid as promises of honouring their input ended up being ignored. The video is now online at Youtube and I urge you, if you are able to, to watch it or part of it and give it the appropriate vote and place comments with your insights, especially with regards to autistic rights: polite but firm if you can find the strength to do so after watching. I haven't been able to find polite comments within myself, so I just voted down in the end...

The video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgZqgyWxYEY

Thank you.

I gave it a try to see what it had to say, but I was only able to make it 8 minutes unfortunately.

Read this court judgment and the sentencing to prison of this quick-buck quack. I wish the sentence had been much longer though at least the court has made its point. Perhaps you could write a letter citing this to Chief Executive of the tv station and requesting that the channel make a statement in the interests of safety and balance. There may be broadcasting legislation there that also allows complaints for lack of balance to an independent panel (as happens here) which may be way of addressing and redressing this. Also is it possible to post this on You Tube and link it to that video?

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/seller-m ... racle-cure

The topic itself is not new here. I didn't watch your link (so that I can have a pleasant and healthy day rather than having my cortisol levels skyrocket. I know what the MMS creeps and profiteers claim (mis-claim) and now would rather focus on brainstorming possible solutions rather than focusing on the problem only.

I've just watched the whole video. It appears that the representatives of Autism South Africa and the other official autism organisations in South Africa do actually oppose the "treatments" like this MMS and they give several examples of children ending up in hospital because of the "treatment" but what worries me the sentence near the end of the video describing the next part, "In part 2 of Autism, Special Assignment tracks Princess's journey in Johannesburg, finding herself at a crossroads, should she follow the advice to follow her autistic son's disability or try an alternative route and give her son a shot at a normal life". This is really bad journalism, how could she give her son "a shot at a normal life" if this kind of "treatment" is not only harmful but not proven to work?

Also, neurodiversity is represented badly in that video, nobody opposes treatments for autism that could improve the child's development but the activists do oppose quack "treatments" that are harmful and dangerous. Accepting a child's disability is not in mutual opposition to accepting therapy that may improve their disability. I also thought that the autism doctor was a bit misrepresented a bit due to editing. She was just saying that there are mainstream therapies available that can improve an autistic child's development but that section was edited together with the piece of that father, the same one who took his son to Philadelphia where his son get's that "therapy" of having to wear an oxygen mask every to "re-pattern his brain", saying he believes that his son can be normal. I don't know if this is bad editing or not but to me, it makes it look as though the doctor was advocating the same kind of "therapy" that this father was having with his son but I don't believe she was.

I've just watched the second part. I'll post up when it's on Youtube but it was mostly about ABA.

Did the treated children become normal?

Thank you everyone, for participating, especially your insightful comments, Jono. I am also working my way through these: as a South Africa autism advocate I would like to issue a response within the next week or so and will let you know when that is done.

Just a bit of background: no autistic advocates were interviewed for these documentaries (yet we were made to believe we will be part of it, and much information was passed onto the journalist while they were making it). The few comments about neurodiversity and advocates made in Part 2 by the voice-over was because of significant communications made to the producer with regards to their one-sided reporting and, to be honest, very poor journalism.

There is a second documentary coming out soon, made by a more independent team, which will hopefully be more representative.

Thank you again, I will post when I have formulated a response.