The warning posted on the government’s website was stern. Some products and treatments that claim to treat or cure autism are marketed deceptively and may be harmful. These include chelating agents, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, chlorine dioxide, and raw camel milk.
That recommendation is now gone.
The Food and Drug Administration removed the page late last year. The federal Department of Health and Human Services told ProPublica in a statement that the webpage was retired “during a routine cleanup of outdated content at the end of 2025,” and that the page had not been updated since 2019. (An archived version of the page is still available online.)
Some supporters of autistic people don’t understand the decision. “It may be an old page, but these warnings are still necessary,” said Zoe Gross, director of the Autism Self-Advocacy Network, a nonprofit policy organization run by autistic people. “People still fall prey to alternative treatments such as chelation and chlorine dioxide, both of which can be deadly.”
Chlorine dioxide is a compound used as an ingredient in industrial disinfectants, bleach, and mouthwash, but people warn that it shouldn’t be swallowed. A ProPublica article examines Sen. Ron Johnson’s endorsement of Dr. Pierre Cory’s new book, which describes the chemical as an “amazing molecule” that, when ingested diluted, “has the potential to treat everything from cancer and malaria to autism and the coronavirus.”
Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, has amplified anti-science claims surrounding the coronavirus and provided blurb on the cover of a book called “The War on Chlorine Dioxide.” He called the film “a fascinating story of corruption and courage that opens your eyes and raises serious questions.”
A recently extracted page from the Food and Drug Administration’s website contained examples of “false claims” about autism and treatments for its symptoms. internet archive
The government’s lack of clear warnings about questionable autism treatments is consistent with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s rejection of conventional science on autism and vaccine safety. Last spring, President Kennedy brought into the agency a vaccine critic who had promoted treatment of autistic children with the puberty-blocking drug Leuprin. And in January, Kennedy changed the composition of his advisory committee on autism, appointing people who support the use of pressurized chambers to provide children with pure oxygen and those who support intravenous drips to draw out heavy metals (a process known as chelation).
President Kennedy has employed a variety of unconventional measures in the fight against what he sees as a system of government corrupted by special interests. In October 2024, just before Donald Trump was reelected as president, Kennedy vowed on social media that the FDA’s “war on public health” would soon be over.
“This includes active suppression of hallucinogens, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapy, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunlight, exercise, nutritional supplements, and other things that promote human health that cannot be patented by pharmaceutical companies,” he wrote.
During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy praised President Trump for pursuing a wide range of treatments for the coronavirus during his first term, saying those treatments include vaccines, various drugs and even “chlorine dioxide.”
Dating back to at least 2010, the FDA has advised consumers not to buy or drink chlorine dioxide, often sold as a “miracle mineral solution,” because it “converts into a dangerous bleaching agent when mixed, causing serious and potentially life-threatening side effects.”
The BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal) previously reported on the FDA’s removal of the warning page. The lack of warning was also highlighted on the Telegram channel “Chlorine Dioxide Testimony”.
“Remember that the FDA quietly removed the chlorine dioxide warning from its website earlier this year,” the post, forwarded in late December, read, to which more than 100 people responded with applause emojis.
The poster added his hopes for the future. President Kennedy and the FDA Commissioner to launch a formal study to investigate the effectiveness of chlorine dioxide in fighting cancer. There are currently no warnings about chlorine dioxide on the consumer page of the FDA website. HHS also did not respond to ProPublica’s questions about whether the agency supports chlorine dioxide as a treatment for autism.
In his book, Cory also expressed optimism about Kennedy’s actions. “What I really want is for the FDA to lift restrictions on research into chlorine dioxide as a treatment,” he wrote. “I’m hopeful that we may finally be able to do that under this new administration, especially now that RFK Jr. is in charge of Health and Human Services.”
Many autism researchers and advocates are wary of Kennedy because of his longstanding position that vaccines cause autism. Peer-reviewed studies conducted around the world and published in major scientific journals over several decades deny such a link.
But under the Kennedy administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overhauled its website about vaccines and autism, arguing that research supporting a link had been ignored by health officials.
The CDC page still has the heading “Vaccines do not cause autism,” but adds an asterisk to indicate that the phrase remains “in agreement with the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.” In order to win confirmation for his post, Kennedy promised Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician, that he would not remove the statement.
President Kennedy’s decision to replace 21 members of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Autism provides another glimpse into the direction in which he intends to take federal policy.
The committee provides advice and recommendations on policy, research, and services. This includes those currently promoting unproven treatments for autism. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Typically used for decompression sickness and tissue damage. Controversial language techniques. and chelation therapy.
In 2005, a 5-year-old autistic boy in Pennsylvania died after a chelation session. Another 5-year-old boy died in a hyperbaric chamber fire in Michigan last year. His parents wanted treatment for his attention disorder.
The Autism Self-Advocacy Network issued a statement on its website saying the newly reconstituted HHS Autism Committee is now “overwhelmingly comprised of anti-vaccine advocates and peddlers of dangerous pseudo-autism ‘cures.'”
HHS told ProPublica in an emailed statement that such claims are “false” and that the new members have experience in research and clinical care. “They are committed to advancing innovation in autism research, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention to align federal policy with the highest standards of current science,” HHS said.
Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician and director of the Center for Vaccine Education at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told ProPublica that President Kennedy’s dismissal of commissioners with solid expertise in favor of alternative medicine advocates shows his “willingness to embrace bogus treatments.”
Another leading expert, Dr. Fred Volkmar, professor emeritus at Yale University and author of the definitive guide, the Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders Handbook, said early diagnosis and proven treatments have led to dramatic improvements in autism patients. “These days, probably 70% to 75% of children on the autism spectrum will grow up to be fully independent or semi-independent adults.”
But sadly, he said, some parents fall prey to promises of easy and quick fixes when there is no cure. One danger, he says, is that children will be turned away from treatments that have been shown to be beneficial.
“It’s unfortunate that the federal government isn’t doing more to help parents understand what works and what doesn’t,” Volkmar said.
