Dear Mr. Marland,
We are writing in response to your article entitled “Optician Banned Over Claim He Could Treat People with Autism.” Your article discusses an optician who wrongfully claimed he could treat individuals with autism through colored filters. We applaud you for identifying that this is an unethical medical practice since there is no sound scientific evidence to support it. Mr. Jordan treated many individuals with autism across the UK and the globe, where his claims provided false hope for many families. His actions and claims shift the focus off of evidence-based practices documented to effectively treat autism, like Applied Behavior Analysis. Interventions derived from the science Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) have been scientifically proven to increase prosocial behaviors and teach new skills, (National Autism Center, 2015; Wong et al., 2014, 2015) while decreasing behaviors of concern (NAC, 2015).
Professionals such as doctors are held in high regard by our society, and parents and caregivers are likely to listen to the advice of such professionals. When doctors provide advice to families that is not scientifically sound, families may spend enormous time and money on interventions with no track record of success. Your article noted that Mr. Jordan was removed from the register of the General Optical Council, as this was the only possible method to ensure he could not continue to put patients and their families at risk. We commend the General Optical Council for taking this step. By shedding light on this, your article may help to ensure that others are aware of the risks of such practices (and in turn, be less likely to fall into the pseudoscience trap created by marketers and proponents of non-evidence-based treatments).
Thank you for taking the time to educate the community about why Mr. Jordan’s practices were not acceptable. We hope you continue to publicly highlight examples of when professionals and individuals propagate pseudoscientific practices, and the negative impact this can have on people with autism and their families. We must continue to ensure parents and caregivers are aware the pitfalls and risks of exposing their family member with autism to non-evidence based treatments. It is our mission at The Association for Science in Autism Treatment to promote safe, effective, science-based treatments for autism, and to ensure that science remains at the forefront of every conversation about autism and its treatment. For more information on effective treatments for autism, we invite your readers to visit our website.
Sincerely,
Karrie Lindeman, Ed.D, SBL, BCBA-D, LABA
Elizabeth Callahan, MA, BCBA
Association for Science in Autism Treatment (www.asatonline.org)
References
National Autism Center. (2015). Findings and conclusions: National standards project, phase 2. Randolph, MA:
Reichow, B. (2012). Overview of meta-analyses on early intensive behavioral intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 512-520.
Wong, C., Odom, S. L., Hume, K. Cox, A. W., Fettig, A., Kucharczyk, S., … Schultz, T. R. (2014). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, Autism Evidence-Based Practice Review Group.
