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Fake science led a mom to feed bleach to her autistic sons -- and police did nothing to stop her
A Kansas mother has posted videos about giving chlorine dioxide, which amounts to industrial bleach, to her sons. Authorities declined to intervene.
Laurel Austin documented her son Jeremy’s first dosing of chlorine dioxide on YouTube. In the 30-second video, broadcast to 4,465 subscribers, Jeremy, 27, sits at a kitchen table as his mother narrates his mood. Then his arms seem to involuntarily twist around one another and he screams into his forearm before taking a bite of a banana.
“Here’s to hoping and praying,” she says.
Austin, 51, is a photographer in Lenexa, Kansas, and a mother of six, four of whom are adults with autism. According to her Facebook posts, she has tried almost every fad online “cure” for autism — a developmental disorder that has no known cure — including treatments for heavy metal poisoning, hormone therapies used in chemical castration and “natural” remedies such as cilantro and algae.
For the last year, according to her social media posts and documents from a police investigation, Laurel Austin has been giving two of her adult sons, Jeremy and Joshua, chlorine dioxide. The Food and Drug Administration warns the solution amounts to industrial bleach, and doctors say it can cause irreparable harm when ingested, including damage to the digestive system and kidneys.
...
The chlorine dioxide Laurel Austin gives to her sons is made by mixing a sodium chlorite solution with an acid activator — both of which are available online for about $20. The solution was first promoted almost two decades ago by a former Scientologist, Jim Humble, as the “Miracle Mineral Solution,” or MMS for short, and sold as a cure for AIDS, cancer and almost every other disease known to humanity.
...
According to the notes, the officers were also convinced by a document labeled “Jeremy Austin’s Daily List of Supplements.” One line of the document read: “MMS Chlorine Dioxide (CD/MMS) drops 16 doses a day every hour.” The list was stamped and signed by Dr. Sarita Singh, a primary care physician at Kansas University’s MedWest Family Medicine Clinic.
Officers spoke to Singh, who confirmed she had approved the list of supplements, including the chlorine dioxide. After a follow-up visit with Laurel Austin and Joshua, Singh sent a letter to police stating the chlorine dioxide was “benign and not toxic,” according to the investigation notes.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/fake-science-led-mom-fee-bleach-her-autistic-sons-police-n1017256
Laurel Austin documented her son Jeremy’s first dosing of chlorine dioxide on YouTube. In the 30-second video, broadcast to 4,465 subscribers, Jeremy, 27, sits at a kitchen table as his mother narrates his mood. Then his arms seem to involuntarily twist around one another and he screams into his forearm before taking a bite of a banana.
“Here’s to hoping and praying,” she says.
Austin, 51, is a photographer in Lenexa, Kansas, and a mother of six, four of whom are adults with autism. According to her Facebook posts, she has tried almost every fad online “cure” for autism — a developmental disorder that has no known cure — including treatments for heavy metal poisoning, hormone therapies used in chemical castration and “natural” remedies such as cilantro and algae.
For the last year, according to her social media posts and documents from a police investigation, Laurel Austin has been giving two of her adult sons, Jeremy and Joshua, chlorine dioxide. The Food and Drug Administration warns the solution amounts to industrial bleach, and doctors say it can cause irreparable harm when ingested, including damage to the digestive system and kidneys.
...
The chlorine dioxide Laurel Austin gives to her sons is made by mixing a sodium chlorite solution with an acid activator — both of which are available online for about $20. The solution was first promoted almost two decades ago by a former Scientologist, Jim Humble, as the “Miracle Mineral Solution,” or MMS for short, and sold as a cure for AIDS, cancer and almost every other disease known to humanity.
...
According to the notes, the officers were also convinced by a document labeled “Jeremy Austin’s Daily List of Supplements.” One line of the document read: “MMS Chlorine Dioxide (CD/MMS) drops 16 doses a day every hour.” The list was stamped and signed by Dr. Sarita Singh, a primary care physician at Kansas University’s MedWest Family Medicine Clinic.
Officers spoke to Singh, who confirmed she had approved the list of supplements, including the chlorine dioxide. After a follow-up visit with Laurel Austin and Joshua, Singh sent a letter to police stating the chlorine dioxide was “benign and not toxic,” according to the investigation notes.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/fake-science-led-mom-fee-bleach-her-autistic-sons-police-n1017256
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