The Autism Research Institute (ARI) is an organization that created a controversial program, Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!), in 1995. ARI was founded in 1967 by

Bernard Rimland Bernard Rimland (November 15, 1928 – November 21, 2006) was an American research psychologist, writer, lecturer, and influential person in the field of developmental disorders. Rimland's first book, ''Infantile Autism'', sparked by the birth ...

Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!)

DAN! advocated for

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

treatments for

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

and maintained a registry of doctors that were trained by the program to perform them. DAN! was one of the more prominent advocates for the now discredited belief that vaccines may be a cause of autism. Its "highest rated" autism treatment was

chelation therapy Chelation therapy is a medical procedure that involves the administration of Chelation, chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. Chelation therapy has a long history of use in clinical toxicology and remains in use for some very sp ...

, which involves removing heavy metals from the body. Its chelation treatment was not supported by mainstream doctors. Doctors told the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' the treatments were dangerous and that misleading tests were used to show that those with autism had a high rate of heavy metals. According to the ''Chicago Tribune'', metals occur naturally in the body and very little is known about what a normal range is. As of 2009, three-fourths of families with a child diagnosed with autism will try an alternative treatment like those that were prescribed by DAN!. ARI's director said in 2011 that the organization's views on autism treatments had changed. The DAN! program and doctor registry was discontinued in January 2011, which was followed by the disbanding of the DAN! conference in 2012.

References

{{authority control Alternative medicine organizations Mental health organizations in California Autism-related organizations in the United States Medical research institutes in California Autism pseudoscience Organizations established in 1967 1967 establishments in California