In The Politics of Autism, I discuss autism quackery. There have been lots of bogus "cures" over the years: chelation, camel milk, "magic dirt," and products containing bleach. They do not work and some are dangerous.
A social media influencer is promoting industrial bleach as a false “autism cure”, despite health warnings and reports from parents that their children have become seriously ill after following her advice.
Kerri Rivera, who has more than 17,000 followers on Instagram, encourages parents to give their autistic children chlorine dioxide (CD) — a potentially lethal chemical used to bleach textiles and disinfect industrial surfaces.
Experts have called her fake cures “sickening”, adding it is “wrong, dangerous and harmful to autistic people and their families”.
Messages seen by The Independent from Ms Rivera’s private support group reveal parents reporting vomiting, rashes, seizures and chemical-smelling urine in their children after following her advice.
One parent wrote: “I have noticed a high ammonia-smelling urine in my daughter's pull-ups... I imagine these are the parasites dying and leaving behind their toxins. Is this a good sign to be smelling this?”
Ms Rivera, who falsely claims that autism is caused by “parasites” and “worms”, routinely reassures parents that these are signs the treatment is working. She refers to symptoms like vomiting and hives as evidence that the body is “detoxifying”.
Her Instagram account states “autism is treatable” – a categorically false claim.
Ms Rivera’s Instagram account has more than 17,000 followers, while her TikTok has attracted over 3,000.
After The Independent contacted TikTok for comment, a spokesperson confirmed the account had been deactivated. Meta has been approached for comment.
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A petition to remove Ms Rivera’s account has been signed by more than 30,000 people.
