Police: Mom fed girl bleach in attempt to cure autism

A father in Indianapolis last week accused his wife of feeding their child bleach to help cure her autism — something his wife had read about in a Facebook group.

Police arrested the 28-year-old mother after she allegedly put dro ps of hydrochloric acid and water-purifying solution in her young daughter’s drinks. The potentially dangerous c hemical c ombination, which becomes an industrial bleach, is marketed as Miracle Mineral Solution or Master Mineral Solution, which its advocates claim will cure a number of diseases, including autism, cancer, AIDS and hepatitis.

Police did not release the names of either parent, or the age of the child, who was removed from the home by Child Protective Services.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in 2010 advising people using MMS to stop immediately and throw it away, citing side effects ranging from uncomfortable to life-threatening, according to the warning. But the MMS website calls it an “amazingly powerful compound” that has “stood the test of time because it works — & works well!”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no med- ication that cures autism, a developmental disability that can cause noticeable social and behavioral chal- lenges. There are medications, however, that can help manage the behaviors connected to autism, such as high energy levels, depression and seizures. Some supporters of autism’s neurodiversity movement are against curing the disability, believing it to be a natural human variation central to autistic people’s identities.

Still, MMS is among many touted “cures” for autism sought by hopeful parents that are considered harmful and banned by the FDA. Parents in the past, for example, have turned to chelation therapies, which are over-the-counter products used in severe cases of lead or iron poisoning that eliminate minerals and metals from the body. Proponents of the treatment, however, say it “cures” autism by removing toxic chemicals.