UK Autism Charity exposed and homeopathic treatment still being advertised in NZ
Bronwyn Rideout (April 11, 2022)
April is Autism acceptance month, and amidst the annual articles reminding everyone that lack of eye contact and an inclination for stimming isn't the worst thing in the world, the ghost of Andrew Wakefield's deception rears its head again.
But maybe it's a good thing that it's only tangentially related.
But only just.
Shanti Das at The Observer recently reported on the connection between one of the leaders of the UK charity, Thinking Autism, and the anti-covid vaccination movement. The charity is fairly new to the Autism scene in the grand scheme of things, having only started in 2006, and claims to provide hope, emotional support and practical information to autistic people and their families.
The charity is co-run by Joanne Allman, who is a trustee, director and treasurer of the organisation. Allman dismissed Omicron and derided the vaccine rollout as an “... insane experiment” and, if you were playing COVID bingo, made allusions to the Nuremberg Trials in a now lost tweet. 
According to Das, Thinking Autism has received almost £400,000 from the National Lottery Community fund in the UK since 2015 - despite complaints being made about the charity for almost as long as it's been around.
The National Lottery Fund denies that they ever received the complaint, and confirmed that their funding relationship with Thinking Autism came to an end in 2020, without further elaboration. Das and The Observer have handed over their findings to the UK Charity Commision who have asserted that they are investigating.
Thinking Autism, Das writes, is largely silent, with the exception of a blog post linking vaccination passports with worsening discrimination of Autistics.
However, this is not the only questionable activity happening behind the doors of Thinking Autism. The charity is accused of referring families to associates of Andew Wakefield, and publishing testimonials for treatments that are bogus, unsubstantiated, or outright disproven. Maybe this last part should be less of a surprise, given that the previous name of Thinking Autism was Treating Autism.
Some leopards can't change their spots it seems.
One of the treatments listed in the article was CEASE Therapy. Complete Elimination of Autistic Spectrum Expression, or CEASE therapy, is based on the concept that Autism is caused by toxins, with 70% of those coming from vaccines. The CEASE therapy regime uses dilute amounts of these “toxins”, as well as dilute versions of vaccines. According to the CEASE therapy website, there are 17 qualified homeopathists in New Zealand who can provide this therapy, although only 3 with working websites allude to autism, and just one of them refers to CEASE therapy outright. Certification in this therapy consists of a three day course, and by the looks of the facebook page the pandemic really put the brakes on training - with the last course held in Europe in 2019.
(Complaints submitted by Mark Hanna, Daniel Ryan and Jonathon Harper regarding Healing Haven's advertising to the Advertising Standard Authority did result in changes to website advertising. You can read these complaints here, here, and here. When pressed by Newsroom, Healing Haven's owner removed any mention of treating children, but the offer of therapy remained)
When Newsroom initially broke this story in 2019, they attempted to determine how homeopaths accessed the required vaccines, which were prescription medications. It was the stance of the Ministry of Health that homeopaths were unlikely to have a reasonable excuse under section 43 of the Medicines Act, so access may have been possible if a homeopath was also an authorised health care professional in another capacity. Vaccines also require adherence to extensive and exacting protocols in terms of cold storage, formulation, administration, record keeping, and adherence to the vaccination schedule; it is unlikely that your neighbourhood homeopath would have the resources to handle the vaccine in its original vial. More likely, as Newsroom suggested, was that the homeopathic vaccines were being imported from overseas already diluted by companies that distribute directly to homeopaths.
As of 2022, little has changed with regards to CEASE in NZ. It is still being offered by homeopaths, but maybe the kiwi skeptics could be cheered that many of the certified practitioners in this country now have broken websites.