150 Parents of Autistic Children Launch Organization, Ad Campaign with Stunning Message: Removing Mercury Reverses Autism in Kids
SAN FRANCISCO, May 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- More than 150 parents of autistic children launched a new nonprofit organization, Generation Rescue, today with a full-page advertisement in USA Today bearing a stunning message: autism is preventable and reversible. Generation Rescue parents are successfully treating their children biomedically and removing mercury from their bodies through a safe and proven detoxification treatment known as chelation therapy.

The organization's Web site, http://www.GenerationRescue.org, provides treatment information and connects parents with more than 150 "Rescue Angels," parents who are successfully treating their own autistic children using a variety of biomedical interventions individualized for each child. Also announced was the availability of 1,000 parents around the country to talk to media about the reversal of autism in their children.

"Our message for parents is very simple: autism is reversible," said J.B. Handley, one of the organization's founding parents and father of a son diagnosed with autism. "I see every day with my own eyes how my son Jamie is recovering from what was previously perceived as an untreatable disorder. With the removal of mercury, Jamie's autistic symptoms go away. He got a second chance at life, and we want to let other parents who are struggling out there know it's possible to get their children back."

Charlie Hoover's 7-year-old son Lenny of Royal Palm, Florida, suffered the classic symptoms of autism - spinning in circles, repetitive behaviors and tantrums. "After Lenny's diagnosis, the more I read, the more the knot in my stomach tightened," said Hoover. "It was as if our son had died."

But after chelation therapy rid Lenny's body of mercury, his symptoms disappeared. Lenny, who loves to play T-ball, is now enrolled in regular kindergarten. "If your child got lead poisoning from eating paint chips, you would certainly do something about that," Hoover said. "What's the difference between mercury and lead?"

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that more than 1 in 166 children are diagnosed with autism, up from 1 in 2,500 since the 1970s. According to the CDC, autism is a life-long disorder that is not treatable.

"For years we have heard the experts say that autism is a lifelong disability. This simply is not true anymore, thanks to effective biomedical treatments that can restore many, if not a majority, of autistic children to full recovery," said Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., Director of the Autism Research Institute and co- founder of Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!), a network of doctors throughout the country who treat autistic patients.

"Thousands of formerly autistic patients have shed their autistic symptoms. They now relate normally to their families and to other children. The hand-flapping is gone. The tantrums are gone. Most of these children who used to be lost in their own worlds are now indistinguishable from other children."

The Autism Research Institute has nearly 1,000 parents nationwide who are available for media interviews about their successful biomedical treatment of their autistic children with DAN! doctors (contact media@AutismResearchInstitute.com).

"Our DAN! doctors determine what each individual child needs, then use safe biomedical interventions to heal that child. Many DAN! Doctors report excellent results from using chelation to rid the body of mercury and other toxic metals," said Dr. Rimland.

Recent studies and investigations have indicated that mercury may be behind the autism epidemic. Mercury, the second most toxic element after plutonium, is estimated to be 500 to 1,000 times more toxic than lead. The heavy metal burrows deep into the cells of the brain and other organs and can lead to serious central nervous system damage and crippling neurological disorders. Scientific evidence pointing to mercury poisoning as the cause behind rising autism rates has led many medical doctors to remove the toxin from the bodies of autistic children through chelation.

"The symptoms of early infant mercury poisoning and autism are virtually identical," said Dr. Boyd Haley, chairman of the chemistry department at the University of Kentucky. "Furthermore, research indicates that autistic children genetically have a harder time excreting mercury from their bodies. This is why chelation has become such a powerful key for unlocking and undoing the disorders associated with autism."

Chelation has been used for decades to detoxify people of dangerous levels of heavy metals, due to industrial accidents or other causes. According to the CDC, 60,000 Americans underwent some form of chelation last year, and the therapy is currently under clinical trial with heart disease patients. In autism treatments, chelating "agents" may be administered orally or transdermally (through the skin). Once in the bloodstream, the chelating agent binds to heavy metals and helps remove them from the body.

"Chelation is one of the most effective ways to rid autistic children of the mercury poisoning which is at the root of their disorder," said Lynne Mielke, M.D., a Pleasanton, California physician, who is part of the DAN! network. "The medical establishment already endorses chelation for acute metal toxicity disorders, and the number of doctors who realize chelation's benefits for the chronic metal toxicity found in autism is rapidly growing."

Parents are also eager to help fellow parents navigate the road to treatment for their autistic children. The Generation Rescue Web site, http://www.GenerationRescue.org, offers contacts for more than 150 volunteer "Rescue Angels," who Handley calls the "heart and soul" of Generation Rescue. "We're parents who want to help other parents caught in the nightmare of autism find hope and recovery for their kids," said Handley, who added that the organization is completely founded, funded and run by parents. "Too often parents believe the outdated myth that autism is not treatable or reversible. We're here to tell them otherwise."

Biomedical treatments for autism require the support of a specialized healthcare provider who can tailor treatment to the individual needs of a child. While chelation therapy shows great promise, there are many biomedical treatments being used to heal autistic children.

To view the ad, visit: http://www.generationrescue.org/pdf/052505.pdf

About Generation Rescue

Generation Rescue is a nonprofit organization formed by parents of children diagnosed with autism and other development disorders. Through thorough research, medical consultation and the use of pioneering new medical treatments, the founding parents of Generation Rescue have seen tremendous improvements in their autistic children-including complete recoveries. Generation Rescue's mission is to provide parents the information and support to understand the cause of autism and treatment options. The Web site, http://www.GenerationRescue.org, gives parents the background to make informed decisions about treatment and connects them with "Rescue Angels," parents of autistic children who voluntarily provide support and guidance on treatment options and providers. Generation Rescue is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit founded in 2005.

About the Autism Research Institute (ARI)

Established in 1967 by Dr. Bernard Rimland, the San Diego- based nonprofit is world headquarters for research and information on autism and related disorders, and the center of a rapidly growing movement that holds that autism can be treated effectively through intensive behavior modification and a variety of individualized biomedical treatments. ARI maintains the world's largest databank of autistic individuals with over 37,000 detailed case histories of autistic children from 60 countries, and is a major source of information on the epidemic and its causes. ARI also helped develop the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) project to train physicians and healthcare professionals on successful treatment of autism. ARI is a 501 (c) (3). For more information, contact 619-281-7165 or visit http://www.AutismResearchInstitute.com.

Click here for a link to a one hour press conference (audio), and a full-page ad in the Wednesday, May 25th, 2005 edition of USA Today:

http://www.generationrescue.org/mediacenter.html