When a child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or a learning disability, parents naturally want to do everything they can to help their child. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to find reliable information. If you have autism, you may find the Autism Treatment Science Association, a website that provides real science and real hope for autism. Instead, you’re more likely to come across unreliable websites that offer pseudoscientific explanations, impressive testimonials, hype, and false hope. And they will embark on programs for which there is no evidence of effectiveness, programs that are very time consuming and expensive. They feed their children cumbersome special diets and make them do all sorts of pointless exercise. Some of them continue with futile treatments even after seeing evidence that they are indistinguishable from a placebo in controlled studies.
Perhaps the most egregious of these untested programs is Karin Jeanne Richardson’s elaborate combination of electrodiagnostic testing, Bach flower remedies, and fractal sound therapy. Her website and her writings indicate that she believes in everything from Ayurveda to Deepak Chopra to homeopathy to energy medicine. she says: “We must know that true healing can only be achieved when the spiritual nature of man is recognized as divine.”
Spectra Vision/Body Scan
SpectraVision is considered to represent the latest knowledge in the field of energy medicine. It is said to help “rediscover one’s true nature and thereby eliminate fundamental imbalances that may manifest as physical illness.” Richardson also believes that much of the “poor health” of children with autism is due to environmental toxic overload (ETO). The scan identifies toxins, and methods such as Epsom salt baths and head and foot massages are used to stimulate the release of toxins from the body.
A description of Quantum SpectraVision technology can be found here. This is a masterpiece of pseudoscience that you may find interesting. (Example: “All matter is just a form of energy, only the rate of vibration is much slower.”) According to it, this machine can eliminate toxins, food problems, acid-alkaline imbalances, spinal misalignments, etc. The team will identify the disease and recommend treatment. Forms such as orthomolecular nutrition, chiropractic and craniosacral adjustments, and homeopathic treatments.
SpectraVision is just one in a long list of bogus electrodiagnostic devices derived from the Electroacupuncture of Voll (EAV). The FDA banned imports of these devices and confiscated some. There have also been criminal prosecutions of marketers and device users.
flower essence
The SpectraVision scan presents 100 different flower essences to the body, and the body responds in a numbered manner. “The soul of the person chooses” the flower essence they are looking for. The chosen essence is administered before bedtime, a reading is done about the essence, and the thought process is lured into the dream. She may have negative dreams at first, but she says they quickly disappear. “For some children, using flower essences is the first time their soul wants to stay in their body.”
She says the basic flower essences are California Wild Rose, Trumpet Vine, Indian Paintbrush, and a five-flower formula that supports the child’s soul. California Pitcher Plant Her essence is said to support healthy digestion and absorption of nutrients for a healthy brain. She says that when an Indian paintbrush appears in the scan image, it means that the child is ready to move from the stage of removing toxins to a new stage of creativity and enter the body. She can train her brain by creating art pieces in an hour and a half while listening to sounds.
Bach Flower Therapy is a fanciful derivative of homeopathy. Proponents claim that flowers have a soul that has an affinity with the human soul. Their claims about clinical efficacy have been verified. Ezzard Ernst reviewed the published evidence and concluded that “the hypothesis that flower remedies are associated with efficacy beyond the placebo response is not supported by data from rigorous clinical trials.” I previously wrote about Bach Flower Remedies.
fractal sound
Richardson presents beautiful photographs that show how fractal sounds on water can look like flowers. oh! Did anyone know? That has to mean something, right?
SetiSMART’s patented software is the “voice codex” for your brain. It provides a prescription sound program that synchronizes your heart rate, breathing rate, and brain waves. This is thought to balance the autonomic nervous system, reduce stress and stress hormone levels, reduce inflammation, and help the brain organize into functional neural pathways. CCBT software uses fractal sonic sounds (along with flower essences) to calm and quiet the body’s hyperactivity and promote neurogenesis. This harmony is thought to likely influence epigenetics, turning genes on and off to restore balance, improve the immune system, and promote emotional bonds between parent and child.
Entrainment is a phenomenon in which the vibrations of one object change the vibrations of another object and synchronize them. There have been reports of synchronization of brain waves with repetitive sounds and beneficial effects of listening to music, but we don’t know about “fractal sounds” or what they are aiming for. And if entrainment occurs, why would synchronizing heart rate, breathing, and brain waves have the wide-ranging effects Richardson describes (turning on genes and promoting emotional bonds?) I can’t imagine it. And I can’t imagine any basis for prescribing separate sound programs. It doesn’t make sense to me, and I think it’s because it doesn’t make sense. And, of course, there are no controlled studies to test Richardson’s program. She claims to have had amazing results, but these may be explained by natural development over time, relaxation, attention, suggestion, and other factors.
Richardson tries to explain:
Sound organizes all matter in the universe around us. Sound organizes our brains into coherent whole-brain functions.
When your body is not stressed, it doesn’t produce cortisol or histamine, which reduces inflammation issues in your brain and body. Stress can cause the stomach to shut down, so the body’s relaxing response during CCBT sound therapy helps improve digestion. There is also deeper sleep and deeper breathing, which maintains the proper balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the brain. With the right flower essences, the child’s whole soul will feel at ease, feel that it can finally return to its home on earth, and will want to remain in its body. And as a result, good physical and emotional markers begin to improve continuously.
I won’t buy this.
Who is driving this?
Karin Jeanne Richardson, BEP, APP, is the founding director of the Institute for Integrative Health and Integrative Medicine and director of the PNI Graduate School of Psychoneuroimmunology. I’m not sure what BEP and her APP stand for, but it’s definitely not a degree in a medical or scientific field. She has a degree in theater and film arts and was an elementary school teacher, singer, and cast member of “Up with People.” She claims to be:
- Neuroscientist, researcher, clinician, author
- environmental toxicologist
- Chopra Ayurveda certified instructor since 2004
- Speech therapist & balance therapist
- PMA Pastoral Medical
- Diplomat of pastoral science
- D.PSc. Ordained in 2003
- ortho molecular nutritionist
- Biomedical and quantum energy medicine
- homeopathic allergist
- Brain Fitness Specialist—From Autism to Dementia Spectrum
- Personalized stress management training
It could be said that she is practicing medicine without a license.
Conclusion: Too stupid
I’m not going to criticize this in detail. Because it’s so ridiculous. It is truly a treasure trove of woo-woo. If you know anything about science and have read articles debunking the claims of energy medicine, electrodiagnosis, flower remedies, homeopathy, etc., let me point out what’s wrong with her claims. There’s probably no need. If you don’t accept science as the only reliable way of knowing, and you believe in the soul and believe that flower essences can persuade the soul to stay in your body, then you don’t care what I say. You won’t even ask. anyway.
