February 23, 2025
Dear Mr. Paul Barry,
We are writing in response to your news segment published on ABC’s Media Watch website: “Autism Lasers.” We would like to commend you for highlighting the potential dangers of red light therapy as a treatment for autism. Families navigating autism diagnosis and treatment are often overwhelmed, and misleading claims about unproven therapies—like those shared by 9News, Seven, and 4BC—risk giving them false hope.
Dr. Genevieve Dharamaraj, a chiropractor from Queensland, Australia, has been promoting red-light therapy, or photo modulation, as an effective treatment for autism. As you highlighted, Dr. Dharamaraj is not an expert in autism or neuroscience, but rather, she is a chiropractor. Information about Dr. Dharamaraj’s experience and credentials were not provided to 9News, Seven, or 4BC viewers. Additionally, her claims about the effectiveness of red-light therapy are not supported by science. Dr. Dharamaraj’s method is based on the work by Dr. Robert Melillo’s Brain Balance program, which lacks empirical support. You referenced Is There Science Behind That? Brain Balance from the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) in the news segment, which provides a detailed review of the lack of evidence for Melillo’s work. You also noted that Dr. Kyle Daigle, a supporter and co-founder of a red-light therapy tech company, spoke to 9News about the treatment and made claims about the effectiveness of red-light therapy, but his financial conflicts of interest and lack of expertise in autism or neuroscience were not relayed to viewers. A lack of expertise in autism and neuroscience by promoters who are working outside their scope of practice and who stand to benefit financially from the acceptance of the treatment are hallmarks of pseudoscientific interventions.
We appreciate that you featured the voices of scientists and psychologists who discredited red light therapy and emphasized its lack of empirical evidence. There is no research scientifically validating the use of laser therapy as a treatment for autism. Advocating for the use of this treatment is harmful and can lead families astray in their search for appropriate treatment for their loved ones, wasting both time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere.
Your reporting underscores the need for families to have easy access to accurate, evidence-based information. At ASAT, we are committed to providing reliable resources to help families make informed decisions that lead to meaningful outcomes. Thank you for shedding light on this critical issue. The misinformation spread by 9News, Seven, and 4BC can deter families from pursuing proven interventions, making your Media Watch segment an invaluable resource.
Sincerely,
Angela Fuhrmann-Knowles, MA, BCBA
Dr Erin Leif, PhD, BCBA-D
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
