The man tapped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run a clinical trial looking to tie vaccines to autism has been charged with practicing medicine without a license, given autistic children a dangerous drug not approved for use in the U.S. and improperly prescribed puberty blockers.

In 2011, the Maryland Board of Physicians charged David Geier, who is not a physician and has only a bachelor’s degree, with illegally practicing medicine alongside his father, Mark Geier, a doctor who died last month. The two treated children with Lupron, a drug used to lower testosterone or estrogen levels in patients with prostate cancer, endometriosis and other diseases, along with chelation therapy, which leaches heavy metals from the body, as in lead poisoning.

Those treatments follow a widely discredited theory that blames autism on exposure to mercury in preservatives used in vaccines. Kennedy has promulgated that theory even though more than two dozen large, rigorous studies have discredited any link between vaccines and autism.

Autistic advocates decried Kennedy’s appointment, fearing his refusal to give up on efforts to establish one would refocus federal resources on finding a “cure” for what most scientists now believe is a naturally occurring human neurotype.

“Anyone who would fleece families with fake cures should not be trusted to interpret a scientific study, let alone conduct one,” the Autistic Self Advocacy Network said in a statement decrying David Geier’s hiring. “This move toward conspiracy theories and junk science puts all our lives at risk.”

A request for comment from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was not immediately answered. The Geiers’ Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., does not have a website.

The network’s statement calls Kennedy’s selection of Geier “a clear indication that the Trump administration plans to rig the upcoming study and claim that it proves vaccines cause autism.

Autistic advocates decried Kennedy’s appointment, fearing his refusal to give up on efforts to establish one would refocus federal resources on finding a “cure” for what most scientists now believe is a naturally occurring human neurotype.

“Anyone who would fleece families with fake cures should not be trusted to interpret a scientific study, let alone conduct one,” the Autistic Self Advocacy Network said in a statement decrying David Geier’s hiring. “This move toward conspiracy theories and junk science puts all our lives at risk.”

A request for comment from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was not immediately answered. The Geiers’ Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., does not have a website.

The network’s statement calls Kennedy’s selection of Geier “a clear indication that the Trump administration plans to rig the upcoming study and claim that it proves vaccines cause autism. This will set public health back decades at a time when vaccine hesitancy and infectious disease are both spreading at alarming rates.”

Among other claims, the Maryland board found that the Geiers diagnosed precocious puberty — a medical condition where children’s bodies mature too early — in an unusually large number of patients, did so without using the standard protocol for establishing whether the children in fact had the condition and failed to tell their families that the chelation drug prescribed was not authorized for use in the United States.

Mark Geier’s medical licenses eventually were suspended by the seven states where he and his son operated autism treatment centers under a variety of names, including the Genetic Centers of America. The Geiers conducted several studies linking vaccines to autism, only to have them retracted and withdrawn from publication by scientific journals. They have testified in hundreds of lawsuits brought by people who claim to have been injured by immunizations.

Lupron is a brand name for a GnRH analogue drug that pauses puberty without causing permanent physical changes. The drugs are sometimes prescribed for children who experience gender nonconformity or gender dysphoria at the onset of puberty.

In January, a large-scale study published in JAMA Pediatrics found the drugs were prescribed for fewer than 0.1% of youth in an insurance claims database covering more than 5 million patients ages 8 to 17. Only 926 youth with a gender-related diagnosis received puberty blockers from 2018 through 2022. No patient under the age of 12 was given the drugs.

Nonetheless, in recent years, 26 states have banned gender-affirming care for young people. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on challenges to the laws. In a January executive order, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to restrict such care.

Thank you for the link

It’s me! I technically have medical insurance but doctor’s visits cost too much to get seen when I want/need, and the insurance covers nothing…it cost me $60 for a 5 minute teledoc call for a nasal spray once. The spray was an additional $35. This was last year

I feel sick.

Yum, looks delicious

Can someone ELI5 what they’re demanding from these protests? The website doesn’t have anything but “stand up for democracy”, which tells me nothing. What are they pushing back on?

Happy Autism Awareness month I guess

Ooo a turtleneck would look great under a dress! So, shapes are probably the easiest way to look for dresses and skirts. “A-line” is the best for fitting all body types, and will usually give you that traditional flared shape at the bottom with the smallest part at the waist. If you want something more tight/closer to the legs try ‘sheathe’ skirt, and super tight skirts that wrap really close to the legs will be ‘pencil’ skirt. (I’d only recommend pencil skirts if you got a big booty with wide hips, but that’s personal preference; those mfers are hard to move in)

As for the kind of dress you were looking for, try ‘square neck sleeveless’ in your search. That should give you something close to the pic I’ll attach. If you want smaller straps than that remove the square neck part and just try ‘sleeveless’. You can also look for ‘work style’ or ‘uniform dress’ which might give you that shape too. A ‘romper dress’ might get you close, but I think those sometimes have shorts sewn under the skirt.

For shoes a ‘flat’, ‘ballerina flat’, ‘loafer’, or some boots would look cute with this kind of dress. If you like the school uniform shoe look try ‘mary janes’, they usually have a rounded toe with a lil strap across the top.

“Women’s” clothes are all over the place in sizes, so measure yourself if you can, and when in doubt order larger, cuz they’re horrible at consistency. “Men’s” clothes are way easier for getting sizes right, so those shirts are way more comfy.

I put a lot, but hope it helps, love! Happy shopping!

I also don’t like corduroy haha. Do you want something to go under it or are you looking for a regular dress with no sleeves but wide straps? I don’t mind looking at some stuff when I have time, if you want some help.

Huzzah!!

If I remember correctly, a pinafore is more like an apron style that has straps/buttons and a romper is worn over a sweater or shirt, but I’m not good at fashion so don’t quote me on that. I just want to encourage everyone to try be their most genuine self and sometimes knowing a term to search for can help get you started. I assumed corduroy because of the color!

Someone irl told me last week “All we can do is bend over and take it”

…I’m so tired lol.

Try searching for Brown Corduroy Dress, add a cream blouse or shirt underneath <3

Not to scare you, but if they last more than a couple days you should reach out to a doctor. I have a family member who had this happen, had horrid hiccups for 4 days straight and it tore open a part that required surgery. It’s been so long now I can’t remember exactly how it happened since I was fairly young at the time, but do take care of yourself <3 hope they clear up soon

It’s a .world comm, but it’s there

c/imsorryjon

Freeze Peach

You expressed this very well. Fighting ableism irl is such a huge, daunting task, especially when fully masked. Know you’re not alone.

According to the CDC, fewer than 10 people die annually from rabies in the U.S. And it happening due to organ transplants is very rare, but not unheard of; in 2013, a patient who received a kidney transplant died from rabies.

So it’s happened before…cool cool, cool…

If that part doesn’t bother you and never has, then that’s the end of that. I have excellent hearing on top of being unable to process and filter certain stimuli. Autism very much coincides with ADHD on a lot of criteria, so again, it can be very difficult to diagnose, but if you’re really determined to get a yes or no answer your best bet is with a doctor. Also, if you’ve been heavily masked all your life, trying to break through that mask for the first time can feel overwhelming and can bring old trauma to the surface. It’s common to feel like you’re regressing as you re-frame your thinking to include those neurospicy tendencies. This community doesn’t get a lot of attention, so if you’re looking for more shared experiences head over to the Neurodiverse comm on Hexbear. They helped me with so much when I was going through the diagnosis process and understanding the very personal, very human aspects of what it means to be Autistic. Hope you find whatever is you’re looking for out of this.