Strange testing practices

[Submerged]

It really sucks when children are prevented from eating.

This is a really funny web-site, however, it sucks that someone I know uses these practices to help "cure" her autistic son. You need to read the section on food allergy testing. As a result of her independently performed "allergy testing" at home, she has a long list (pages long) of foods that her son is supposedly "allergic" to. He tries to steal food from other people because he wants to eat and is not allowed to; she has him tube fed instead because according to her tests, he is allergic to any form of food. He has never been allowed to eat through his mouth. I have often wondered if she should be reported for abuse. I think that it is disgusting. I have, btw, seen him eat real food by accident somewhere and he has suffered no side-affects.

-sub

http://www.aaamps.net/index.htm

"Theresa is a Board Certified Acupuncture Physician who is licensed in Florida and Virginia."

Does anyone know if it is legal for this mother to uses these website practices to justify denying her child REAL FOOD? Especially since the doctor has never actually seen the child in question and consults with the mother through phone calls? Especially since she is lisenced in another state. If anyone can find additional information about this woman or if it is legal, then I would be curious to know. I feel in my heart that it borders on abuse and should be reported. The child tries to steal food. He wants to eat. He mouths everything that he can, maybe because he is not getting enough sensory input to his mouth. He is unable, due to his severe developmental delays, of communicating his wants or desires in any way through speech, communication devices or any other form of modified communication. I just think that he deserves better.

[nalgas]

This is a really funny web-site that someone I know uses to help "cure" her autistic son. You need to read the section on food allergy testing. As a result of her independently performed "allergy testing" at home, she has a long list (pages long) of foods that her son is supposedly "allergic" to. He tries to steal food from other people because he wants to eat and is not allowed to; she has him tube fed instead because according to her tests, he is allergic to any form of food. I have often wondered if she should be reported for abuse. I think that it is disgusting. I have, btw, seen him eat real food by accident somewhere and he has suffered no side-affects.

-sub

>

>http://www.aaamps.net/clients/food_testing.htm

And I thought my diet was restrictive these days...

Holy fucking whackjob, Batman! They call us crazy? I just read that page. Whose ass did they pull that out of? It would be hilarious if no one actually did any of that stuff, but instead it's really creepy that someone is actually doing it. If she's seriously doing that to her kid, she doesn't have enough sense to have a kid. Honestly, I would expect someone like that to have fallen out of a window or been eaten by a bear or forgotten to look both ways before crossing the street well before puberty and the ability to have kids and be unable to raise them. Retroactive karma, why must you continue to fail me? I'll support "tube as abuse" and "waving fruit at people and seeing if they tense up or not for allergy testing as asshattery".

(This looks slightly off from what it says in your post here, because I saw it the original time it was posted and was in the middle of replying to it when it got moved over here, so I just copied and pasted what I had. Heh. Dang it.)

[faith]

That is absolutely sickening and makes me want to break things. Loudly.

[Submerged]

PM's are welcome. I can not take any action due to confidentiality agreements.

-Sub

Edited b/c I withdrawal request for legal advice.

But, it is not b/c I believe there are no crazy lawyers out there who read this site. I have other reasons.

[december_brigette]

Yes,

I agree with punksailor. call your state's child protective services. anyone can call and make a report. and at least you know you tried to help.

db

[Loon-A-TiK]

or you could possibly speak to an attorney for free, as often their consultatins are free (but since this would not be a lawsuit i'm not sure if it would be free. they're after money, after all).

that poor kid. what kind of lame-ass excuse for a mother is that? her child is "allergic" to all this food and needs a tube? garbage! yes, i'm sure that he's allergic to everything. an allergy means you get a rash from it (according to herrfous). does he get a rash from this food? but then again, i'm lactose intolerant and i just get GI problems from lactose, but maybe that's a different kind of thing.

[nalgas]

an allergy means you get a rash from it (according to herrfous). does he get a rash from this food? but then again, i'm lactose intolerant and i just get GI problems from lactose, but maybe that's a different kind of thing.

Lactose intolerance is caused by missing a specific enzyme to digest lactose and is different from other food intolerances and food allergies. As far as those go, people can have a bunch of different reactions which don't necessarily have to include a rash. However, if you look at the procedure this place gives for testing for allergies, it's completely absurd and has nothing at all to do with how they work. Allergies are currently understood to be types of immune reactions, which I don't see how you could possibly test for by reciting the ingredient list of the dinner you're planning to make that night out loud at someone. I don't think the immune system has antibodies to respond to verbal commands, and I don't think the imaginary magical ones that don't exist produce an immediate response in muscles, either. A real skin test from a real allergist requires a 15 minute wait, so at least it would be conveniently faster... Just sort of babbling my thoughts about it out loud for anyone who's interested, since I've been dealing with it lately.

As far as legal advice goes and stuff like that, punksailor is probably right that you're unlikely to get much here that would be terribly official. CPS is always a possibility. There are sometimes lawyers or organizations who, while they would be willing to talk to you or help you out in a non-free way, can direct you to someone who can/is willing to give you some help with your situation, but I wouldn't know where to start with this. Maybe NAMI, since it's about an autistic kid, and they have referral stuff. You might be able to get some questions answered through them if you need to. I'm really not sure what you're looking for or what the best way to get it is, though, since it's really not my area. Heh.

[reddog]

dear God. why don't we wave a baseball bat in this woman's face and see if she reacts with a weak arm?

[Submerged]

I suppose that I should report the woman anonymously. Right now I'm trying to keep a low profile at work for other reasons.

[Submerged]

The child does suffer some legitimate allergies. You, know, like the seasonal kind. But as far as food testing using his arm goes, he has very severe developmental delays and his muscle strength in general is poor; unless he is reaching for something, his muscles do not tense up. She must say the name of the food, b/c everytime I try her method with the actual food item in hand the child's muscles tense up because he is reaching in an attempt to steal the food from me... probably because he wants to EAT!!!

-Sub

[Submerged]

Did you report this anonymously yet? He deserves your help. I think muscle testing is quakery. I've seen it done, I've had it done on me, and it's just plain silly. And how is she administering food through a tube? Is it with an IV? Because if she is just pureeing food and making him suck his liquid diet through a straw, then how in the hell is that helping the allergies? Or is she able to extract the allergens with her special blender? At the very least she needs some parenting classes. Please intervene.

He originally had an eating disorder related to his autism dx when he was very young and he had a surgical procedure done for gastromy feeding using ensure through the tube. But, the child's situation has changed and he has shown an interest in eating food. Personally, I think it's all a matter of convenience for the mother, she hooks him up to a tube and in 15 minutes or less...TADA!...the child is fed. No messy food to clean up, no spitting up to deal with, no hassle finding foods the child will eat, no hassle teaching him to use silverware (which, with his developmental delays will be a battle), no time spent preparing meals. But, she has no valid medical basis for preventing him from eating food at this point. I'm not sure that I can report it since he is receiving nourishment. She's just lazy. The concern is partially due to his autism and his sensory needs. He is constantly sticking things in his mouth and seems to crave sensory input there. His fingers are even shriveled up like a person who just got out of a swimming pool b/c they are so wet from being in his mouth. He mouths everything. And he is unfairly removed from group activities which involve food such as lunch and snack. These are times when he could be spending time with his peers, which he actually enjoys doing despite his dx. She does other things that leave him out. The class goes on trips to a nearby swimming pool a few blocks away and for a long time she didn't want him to go b/c she claimed that he was allergic to the water. After 2 1/2 years of hassle she has run out of excuses because she bought a house with a swimming pool this year. So, now, she conveniently forgets his swimsuit everytime they visit the pool. And she won't let the school just keep an extra swim suit at school and wash it themselves b/c she says that he is allergic to laundry detergent and his clothes need to be washed a special way. She says that he will break out in a rash if he smells purell, perfume, cleaning products, etc. Basically, he is a child with a lot of behaviors and every time that he has a behavior, she thinks of something that was in his environment at the time and adds it to the list of things that he is allergic to.

Ex: He has a huge SIB episode one night and the following morning she thinks "Oh, my God, I was using that lemon scented furniture polish yesterday! He must have had a reaction to it!" And she adds lemon scented furniture polish to the list. Well, after 3 years of daily SIB, you can only imagine how many things have been in his environment cumulatively. So there is this ridiculas list pages long of things that he MUST be allergic to. It is cruel, but, since he is getting fed, I'm not sure it can be called abuse. And I'm paranoid about confidentiality issues.

-Sub