An Open Letter To Parents Giving Their Children Ivermectin To Treat Autism
Dear parents,
Stop what you’re doing and pay attention.
Who am I that you should listen to? Well, I was a kid once. Let’s start there. I was a little girl who came from a decently messed up family. We were poor. That one factor led to many conditions not being addressed or diagnosed. One of those conditions was autism. I was 38 when it was found. That’s considered “late”, apparently.
As a kid, I was always called “one of our brightest students” by my teachers. I was also blind as a bat due to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, another thing diagnosed late (age 35 and after multiple surgeries, chronic illnesses and intractable pain). I would move to the front of the class, squint and do my best to pay attention during math, which bored me to tears. I could do calculus equations, but fractions were frustrating. Go figure.
English and music, though, were my favorite subjects. I was singing and mimicking people and commercials at age 2, to my memory. My mother would show me off to people. She was so proud when I began mimicking Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick. I didn’t know what the big deal was.
I was also incredibly sensitive. As it turns out, getting CPTSD after chronic abuse from people and having autism at the same time is not a great combination. People could hurt me so badly with just a word. I was so concerned for other people, though. I still am. My parents put a lot of responsibility on me to be considerate to others, to care for them and ignore myself. That was to be my lot in life.
I couldn’t handle people lying, either. My first memory of my childhood best friend was of me running down the street screaming, “LIAR! YOU LIED TO ME!” at the top of my lungs. She’d lied over something incredibly trivial, my friend, but it felt as though I’d been hit by something huge. I felt like the world was crumbling. I found out later that this was a meltdown. I still experience them.
Imagine my surprise when I grew up to find out that I’m not responsible for everyone else. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the reason I burnt out in college, couldn’t make it through so many classes and barely survived what would otherwise be called “easy” situations.. was all because I was autistic. I was mimicked, made fun of and bullied by children and adults alike. I highly recommend reading Trauma and Autism: Sensory Sensitivities by Dr. Tasha Oswald to further understand why this isn’t only “kind of” bad.
Now, as an adult, these situations present themselves differently. I’m expected by society to handle things with poise and serenity. Sometimes, it’s easy. Sometimes, though, everything is too much and I curl up in a ball and can’t function. Sometimes, I’ll stop moving completely and start shaking. I’ll become speechless while I try to calm down, while tears stream down my face. There’s more, but that’s for another time.
No, I can’t shut it off. It’s just there. For everyone not understanding these things, I highly recommend looking into “Understanding The Autistic Mind” to start.
Now, can you imagine not knowing why the world is so hard for you, needing to be supported by the people you love and look up to and not being able to articulate all of the things you’re going through? These are some of the thoughts of autistic children. They were my own thoughts as well. My parents sent me to multiple therapists. I lost count. Did they help? No. Not one of them. Had we known that I was autistic, they might have tried ABA therapy, not knowing what it was or what it did.
For those who don’t know about that, I recommend checking out “Autism Speaks and ABA: Same Harmful Methods, Different Coat of Paint” by sebastianthedude on Neuroclastic, a platform for people across the autism spectrum.
Everything that I went through and didn’t get help and support for during my formitive, childhood and teen years ended up shaping me into an extremely traumatized adult with autism. I had no idea how to function in a world made for people without autism, without trauma. I learned the hard way. Without the support I have now, I’d have been dead long ago.
When I heard about the Telegram group of parents and people giving and ingesting ivermectin to “treat” autism, I became beyond angry. David Gilbert covered this story clearly and concisely. I didn’t know that people were doing anything like this. I knew that people blamed vaccines for autism (which there is no proof of, contrary to what these folks would have you believe). I also knew that most people who believe that theory usually also believe that autism is “something wrong”.
Now, can you imagine being a child, born a certain way, and having your parents tell you that you need to be medicated or treated and, then, that they’re going to give you unsanctioned medications that are proven poisonous when used outside of their wheelhouse?
Gilbert wrote,
“In the channel, parents even share stories about their children experiencing horrific side effects from the drug, including brain fog, severe headaches, nausea, muscle pain, and seizures — and are routinely dismissed by those running the channel, who claim it’s a normal part of the ‘healing’ process.”
Later on,
“Bleeding or mucous or vomiting or diarrhea or acne or pealing or aches/pains or hot flashes & sweating are all good signs of clearing out your body,” another member wrote. “This is healing, keep going.”
I understand a parent’s right to treat and parent their child, but there is absolutely zero evidence that ivermectin in any way “treats” autism. Autism doesn’t actually need treatment, either. Yes, there are some symptoms that can inhibit our abilities to function in an otherwise allistic society and world, but, again, this does not mean that there is anything “wrong” with us.
My autism was not diagnosed as a child. The treatments I was given were based on inaccurate diagnoses that were later overturned. Inaccurate treatment or treating something that isn’t medically “wrong” can lead to worsening lives and complications in human beings. This is known.
I know this letter seems all over the place to you. It does to me too. My brain is having a horribly difficult time understanding why any parent would willingly do this to their child and, more so, why they are not being arrested for child abuse.
Therapy is something I can understand being helpful to a neurodivergent mind that has been traumatized. However, treating someone with a neurodivergent mind using a medication that treats animal parasites and equates to long-term poisoning when used this way.. well, that’s not something I can understand.
You are poisoning your children.
Do you want them to have a healthy life? Do you want them to have a good future? Do you want them to survive to adulthood?
Then stop.
There is nothing wrong with autistic minds. Our minds are physiologically different from your “typical” brains, but not wrong. Please, learn the difference between “wrong” and “different”. Please, stop torturing your autistic children. Please, stop pushing ABA therapy on your children. It is no different than conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is illegal now, remember?
Would you be okay with someone telling you that you need treatment for your “normal” brain? No?
Hey.
Neither are we.
Sincerely,
An adult with CPTSD and autism who was once a scared little girl with undiagnosed autism
