Bernard Rimland

Bernard Rimland
Born(1928-11-15)November 15, 1928
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedNovember 21, 2006(2006-11-21) (aged 78)
San Diego, California, U.S.
EducationSan Diego State University (Bachelor's)
Pennsylvania State University (PhD)
Known forAutism research
Alternative autism treatments
Autism-related pseudoscience
Anti-vaccine activism
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
WorkplacesAutism Research Institute
Autism Society of America

Bernard Rimland (November 15, 1928 – November 21, 2006) was an American research psychologist, alternative medicine promoter, writer, and lecturer, who was influential in dispelling the once-prevalent belief that autism was caused by emotionally cold or distant parenting. Rimland's first book, Infantile Autism—inspired by his experience parenting an autistic son—was instrumental in changing attitudes about the disorder. Rimland founded and directed two advocacy groups: the Autism Society of America (ASA) and the Autism Research Institute (ARI).[1] He also promoted several unproven or discredited theories about the causes and treatment of autism. This included falsely claiming a link between vaccines and autism, falsely promoting facilitated communication as a legitimate form of augmentative and alternative communication, and falsely promoting chelation therapy and secretin as effective autism treatments. He also supported the ethically controversial practice of using aversives (including electric shocks) on autistic children.

Education

Rimland completed his undergraduate studies and earned a master's degree in psychology at San Diego State University.[2] He obtained his Ph.D. in experimental psychology and research design, from Pennsylvania State University in 1953.[1]

Career

Upon completion of his doctorate, Rimland and his wife moved back to San Diego. Rimland worked as a psychologist at the Point Loma Naval Station,[2] where he remained until 1985.[3]

After the birth of his son, Mark, and his subsequent diagnosis of autism around the age of two, Rimland began researching the disorder. The prevailing theory in the 1950s was that autism was the reaction of children to mothers who were "cold and distant". Rimland's personal experience contradicted this idea of "refrigerator mothers" and he began searching for alternative explanations.[2]

In 1964, Rimland published his book, Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implications for a Neural Theory of Behavior. In the book, Rimland asserted that autism was not a psychological manifestation caused by unfeeling parents,[4] a widely held belief popularized by Bruno Bettelheim.[3] Instead, Rimland suggested, autism was a result of biochemical defects "triggered by environmental assaults". He acknowledged that there may also be a genetic component predisposing children to the disorder. Rimland argued that autism could "be treated—or at least ameliorated—with biomedical and behavioral therapies."[3] Infantile Autism challenged the medical establishment's perceptions of autism.[5][2] Rimland's message resonated with parents and, after the book was published, he began getting calls and letters from people who wanted to share their stories and ask for advice.[2]

In 1965, Rimland founded the Autism Society of America (ASA), a parent advocacy organization, to "work on behalf of autistic children and their families at local, state and national levels."[6]

In 1967, Rimland left the ASA to establish the Autism Research Institute (ARI), a San Diego–based non-profit organization dedicated to researching and collecting data on autism and related disorders.[7] He kept a database of research and case histories, as well as conducted and sponsored research in an attempt identify the cause of autism and offer effective treatment solutions. He published an ARI newsletter, which reached an international audience.[8] Rimland was also the editor of the Autism Research Review International,[9] published by ARI, which covers biomedical and educational advances in autism research.

Rimland served as technical advisor on autism for the 1988 movie Rain Man. Rimland suggested giving Raymond Babbitt, the movie's main character portrayed by Dustin Hoffman,[3] the extraordinary characteristics of someone with savant syndrome.[10] Hoffman interviewed Rimland's son, Mark, in preparing for the role.[2] He felt the movie portrayed disabled people (particularly autistic people) sympathetically.[11][12] The makers of the movie made a donation of $75,000, intended to go to ARI. However, the check was made out to ASA in error. Rimland sued to get the money returned, but lost in court because he failed to file the lawsuit in time.[13]

In 1995, Rimland established Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!), an initiative overseen by ARI that claimed to promote effective biomedical autism treatments. However, DAN! primarily focused on the promotion of unproven or discredited alternative autism treatments and prophylactics, including chelation therapy, gluten-free, casein-free diets, vitamin therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and vaccine avoidance.[8][5][14]

Rimland eventually returned to ASA leadership, last serving as an honorary member of the organization's board of directors in 2006 (the year he died).[15]

Stance on key issues

Rimland was outspoken on what he believed to be the major causes for autism: environmental pollutants, antibiotics, and vaccinations.[3] Sometimes, this put him at odds with the established medical community. In a letter to the editor of the Washington Post in 1997, Rimland wrote: "The reason that the public–and Congress–supports alternative medicine is that conventional medicine, despite its arrogance, is far too ineffective, far too harmful and far too costly. Non-conventional medicine is a rational alternative to a much greater evil–conventional medicine."[16]

Vaccinations, thiomersal, and chelation therapy

Rimland considered vaccinations to be a "prime suspect" in the onset of autism.[17] He maintained that, while not proven, there was a direct link between thiomersal (a harmless mercury-based preservative used in some vaccines[18][19]) and autism.[3][20] He also supported anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield's now-discredited suggestion that the MMR vaccine was linked to autism. Rimland contended that the vaccination triggered autism by placing a burden on the immune systems of children between birth and age 2.[21]

Rimland further alleged a link between the increase in autism diagnoses in the 1980s and the introduction of the MMR vaccine,[3] a correlation the Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association did not support.[22] He also rejected the idea that a diagnosis of autism at or around 18 months, the same time the vaccinations were administered, was coincidental.[20] In 2001, when the California Department of Health Services, along with studies from England and Finland, reported that the vaccine "plays little or no role in the disease", Rimland stated that it was "much too early to dismiss the [vaccine] hypothesis".[21] He also cast doubt on the findings of a 2001 study by Robert L. Davis, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Davis found neither an association between the MMR vaccine and inflammatory bowel disease "nor any evidence that the vaccine triggered acute onset of symptoms."[21] In 2004, 10 of the 13 co-authors of Wakefield's 1998 paper suggesting a potential link between the MMR vaccine and autism withdrew their original interpretation.[23] In 2010, The Lancet formally retracted the paper outright due to ethical misconduct and fraud on Wakefield's part.[24]

Rimland also alleged autistic traits were symptoms of heavy-metal poisoning caused by exposure to thiomersal and other forms of mercury.[25] Based on this belief, he advocated for the use of chelation therapy—which removes heavy metals from the body[26]—to treat autism.[8][14][27] In 2005, he told NBC News that chelation therapy was "by far the most effective treatment available" for autism.[27]

It is scientific consensus that there is no link between any vaccine or vaccine ingredient and autism[28][29][30] and that the thiomersal used as a preservative in some vaccines is not harmful.[18][19] Chelation therapy is unproven as an autism treatment and has sometimes resulted in kidney damage, death, or other serious complications when improperly administered.[26][31][32]

Diet therapy and secretin

Rimland supported research that focused on "natural, non-toxic ways" to address symptoms of autism. He believed that vitamins (specifically B-6 and magnesium) and minerals could help change body chemistry and bring about behavioral changes.[4][33][34][35]

Rimland advocated the use of secretin, a "naturally occurring intestinal hormone, saying it was "possibly the most important discovery in the history of autism.[36][37] He claimed that children treated with the hormone showed "sudden and dramatic improvement". However, researchers in North Carolina and the University of Chicago in separate studies showed that the children receiving treatments with secretin showed "no more improvement" than those receiving a placebo. This treatment was not recommended by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.[38][39]

Facilitated communication

Rimland was an early supporter of facilitated communication (FC) (now discredited),[40] though he disputed founder Douglas Biklen's claims that autism was "fundamentally a motor problem". At first, Rimland claimed the technique was effective for "a small number of people",[41] but far fewer than the 100% success rate claimed by some proponents.[42] He advocated "properly conducted research" to determine whether correct answers could be obtained if the facilitator did not know the answers.[43][44]

As FC generated false claims of abuse (about 25 by his count in 1993),[45] mostly against parents, Rimland's view of FC's usefulness changed to one of caution. "In almost every instance of this sort, when charges have come to court and been investigated, courts have decided that they were untrue."[42][41] Rimland later said, "How is it possible that an autistic kid can pick up the last tiny crumbs of potato chips off a plate but not have sufficient motor coordination to type the letter E?"[46]

Rimland became a "vigorous critic" of FC after "more than two dozen 'blind' trials, showed the people with autism being facilitated "typed the names of objects that only the facilitators had been shown."[47] In 1995, Rimland reported that peer-reviewed studies (40+) with more than 400 people with autism as subjects had "failed to document FC in all but a handful of cases."[46] As a result, in 1994, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association noted in their position statements that "there is no scientific proof that communication via a facilitator is valid."[46]

Applied behavior analysis

Rimland was a proponent of applied behavior analysis (ABA),[3][48] a controversial operant-conditioning system popularized as an autism treatment by psychologist Ole Ivar Lovaas. Lovaas' methods initially included the use of aversive stimuli to modify behavior, including slaps and electric shocks, as well as the withholding of food.[49][50][51] In 1964, Rimland began treating his own son using operant conditioning after meeting with Lovaas and observing his methods.[48]

Aversives

Rimland was in favor of using aversives (including electric shocks) to modify the behavior of autistic children and advocated against the passage of California's Hughes Act of 1990, which heavily restricted their use.[52] At least once, he misrepresented the views of his colleagues to make it seem as though they supported aversives when they did not so as to further his viewpoint. After Rimland quoted Anne Donnellan and another anti-aversive behaviorist as being in support of the practice, Donnellan issued the following response: "We never have made or written such a statement. Dr. Rimland has been warned publicly and privately that to continue to use our names and our professional reputations to support positions that he espouses and we oppose exposes him to charges of unethical, illegal, as well as ridiculous conduct."[53]

Criticism of evidence base and other proponents

Despite Rimland's support of ABA, he criticized those who characterized it as the only scientifically validated autism treatment, including the New York State Department of Health and the behaviorist nonprofit Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT). In a 1999 column published by ARI's Autism Research Review International, Rimland claimed ABA's evidence base was weak in comparison to that of the vitamin B6 and magnesium treatments he had promoted. He also criticized Lovaas' "centerpiece" 1987 ABA study for not being double-blinded and its results not being replicated to date.[48] In response, ASAT's board of directors claimed Rimland was misrepresenting ABA's evidence base and research methodologies and criticized him and the publication for their past promotion of unproven or discredited autism treatments and supports (including facilitated communication and the megadosing of vitamin B6 and magnesium).[54]

Personal life

Rimland was born on November 15, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio. He and his family moved to San Diego, California, in 1940.[2]

In 1951, Rimland married Gloria Belle Alf. They had three children. Mark, born in 1956, exhibited challenging behaviors which Rimland self-diagnosed through research as autism. This condition, relatively unknown at the time, was confirmed by a pediatrician.[2]

Death

At the age of 78, Rimland died of prostate cancer on November 21, 2006, at a care facility in El Cajon, California.[2]

Books

  • 1964 Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implication for a Neural Theory of Behavior - written after his son, Mark, was diagnosed as autism.
  • 1976 Modern Therapies (with Virginia Binder, A. Binder)
  • 1998 Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD (with William Shaw, Lisa Lewis, Bruce Semon)
  • 2001 Tired - so Tired!: And the "Yeast Connection" (with William Crook, Cynthia Crook)
  • 2003 Vaccines, Autism and Childhood Disorders: Crucial Data That Could Save Your Child's Life (with Neil Z. Miller)
  • 2003 Treating Autism: Parent Stories of Hope and Success (with Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D.)
  • 2006 Recovering Autistic Children (originally published as Treating Autism) Second Edition (with Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D.)

References

  1. 1 2 Carey, Benedict (November 28, 2006). "Bernard Rimland, 78, Scientist Who Revised View of Autism, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Maugh II, Thomas H. (November 26, 2006). "Obituaries: Bernard Rimland, 78; Author was the father of modern autism research". Los Angeles Times. No. Home Edition. Los Angeles, California. p. B.14. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Venables, Stephen (November 28, 2006). "Bernard Rimland; psychologist researcher in autism who overturned the theory that it was a reaction to bad parenting". The Independent. London (UK). p. 34. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Ask the Globe". Boston Globe. No. Third Edition 4. Boston, Massachusetts. December 15, 1986. p. 44.
  5. 1 2 "ASA Founder, Pioneer in autism research, support, to be honored by community he founded". US Newswire. Washington. November 22, 2006.
  6. ↑ "Partnership to address epidemic; two organizations founded by Dr. Bernard Rimland join to promote cutting-edge research and service delivery in the autism community". US Newswire. Washington. October 31, 2006.
  7. ↑ "150 parents of autistic children launch organization, ad campaign with stunning message: removing mercury reverses autism in kids". US Newswire. Washington. May 24, 2005. p. 1.
  8. 1 2 3 Shattock, Paul (December 6, 2006). "Obituary: Bernard Rimland: Parent and practitioner revolutionizing the treatment of autism". The Guardian. London (UK). p. 37. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  9. ↑ Rimland, Bernard (April 26, 2000). "Commentary: Do Children's Shots Invite Autism?; Vaccines: Chronic diseases have risen with increased vaccinations against acute diseases". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. B.9.
  10. ↑ Deneen, Sally (March 30, 1989). "Researcher helps film win Oscars; patients, friends love use of autism in plot". Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. p. 1B.
  11. ↑ King, Andrea (March 29, 1989). "Rain Man touches home; film raises autistics' self-image, say families and support groups". The Washington Post. No. Final Edition. Washington, D.C. p. C01.
  12. ↑ Bass, Alison (December 23, 1988). "'Rain Man' illuminates autism". Boston Globe. No. Third Edition. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 23.
  13. ↑ "Error costs 'Rain Man' adviser $75,000". The Washington Post. No. Final Edition. Washington, D.C. August 13, 1997. p. C:10.
  14. 1 2 Bottema-Beutel, Kristen; Kapp, Steven K.; Sasson, Noah; Gernsbacher, Morton Ann; Natri, Heini; Botha, Monique (September 8, 2023). "Anti-ableism and scientific accuracy in autism research: a false dichotomy". Frontiers in Psychiatry. 14. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1244451. ISSN 1664-0640. PMC 10514488. PMID 37743979.
  15. ↑ "Form 990 for period ending December 2006". ProPublica. December 31, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
  16. ↑ "When 'Alternative' medicine is prescient". Washington Post. No. Final edition. Washington, D.C. October 7, 1997. p. A.16.
  17. ↑ "Our Health: Doctor blames MMR jabs for surge in autism". Sunday Mercury. Birmingham (UK). August 22, 1999. p. 36.
  18. 1 2 Offit, Paul A. (July 13, 2026). "Vaccine Ingredients: Thimerosal". Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Archived from the original on June 29, 2026. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Fact Checked: Extensive Research Shows Thimerosal is Safe". American Academy of Pediatrics. July 15, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  20. 1 2 Kesich, Greg (October 29, 2001). "Did kids' vaccines trigger autism? Three Maine families say yes, along with dozens of others with autistic children, but most officials see no link". Portland Press Herald. Portland, Maine. p. 1A.
  21. 1 2 3 "California and the West; Vaccine, surge in autism unrelated, study says. Health: Rise in cases occurred while measles-mumps-rubella inoculation rate was constant. Critics discount findings". Los Angeles Times. No. Home Edition. Los Angeles, California. March 7, 2001. p. A.3.
  22. ↑ Kaplan, Sunny (April 7, 2000). "Autism-vaccine link raised in hearing; Medicine: psychologist tells House panel that steep rise in disorder may stem from immunization campaign, a theory hotly contested by other experts". Los Angeles Times. No. Home Edition. Los Angeles, California. p. 26.
  23. ↑ Murch, Simon H.; et al. (March 6, 2004). "Retraction of an interpretation". The Lancet. 363 (9411): 750. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15715-2. PMID 15016483. S2CID 5128036. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  24. ↑ Dyer, C. (February 2, 2010). "Lancet retracts Wakefield's MMR paper". BMJ. 340 (feb02 4): c696–c696. doi:10.1136/bmj.c696. ISSN 0959-8138.
  25. ↑ Morgan, John; Shoop, Stephen A. (April 15, 2003). "John Schneider promotes Asperger's Syndrome awareness". USA Today. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  26. 1 2 "What Is Chelation Therapy & What Does It Treat?". Cleveland Clinic. February 12, 2025. Archived from the original on August 5, 2026. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  27. 1 2 Weaver, Jane (February 23, 2005). "Inside the autism treatment maze". NBC News. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism". Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. March 19, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  29. ↑ Offit, Paul (September 27, 2025). "Vaccines and autism". Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Archived from the original on August 14, 2026. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  30. ↑ "No. Vaccines do not cause autism. Deconstructing the myth." Immunize Canada. March 5, 2026. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  31. ↑ Lagan, Niamh C; Balfe, Joanne (July 14, 2018). "Question 2: Does heavy metal chelation therapy improve the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder". Archives of Disease in Childhood. 103 (9): 910–911. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2018-315338. ISSN 0003-9888.
  32. ↑ "Autism treatment: Can chelation therapy help?". Mayo Clinic. February 27, 2026. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  33. ↑ Mims, Bob (October 12, 1986). "Researchers seek autism Treatment". Orange County Register. Santa Ana, California. p. H05.
  34. ↑ Lawton, Cathy (January 12, 1989). "Life isn't much like the movies for OC autistics". Orange County Register. Santa Ana, California. p. D01.
  35. ↑ Griffith, Kelly (April 25, 2001). "Headline: Autism, ADHD in spotlight". Press & Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, New York. p. B.1.
  36. ↑ Kalk, Samara (May 24, 1999). "Scrambling for secretin; questions remain on new treatment for autism...but parents want it now". Madison Capital Times. No. All Edition. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 1A.
  37. ↑ "Repligen against rights to potential autism treatment". PR Newswire. New York. March 10, 1999. p. 1.
  38. ↑ Maugh II, Thomas H. (December 9, 1999). "In clinical trial, hormone shows no effect on autism; health: secretin, which parents had fervently sought as a cure, produces no more improvement than a placebo". Los Angeles Times. No. Home edition. p. A, 1: 15.
  39. ↑ Mestel, Rose (March 12, 2001). "Special Report: Autism. Parents look to unproven therapies to solve autism". Los Angeles Times. No. Home Edition. p. S.5.
  40. ↑ International Society for Augmentative Alternative Communication (2014). "ISAAC Position Statement on Facilitated Communication". Augmentative and Alternative Communication. 30 (4): 357–358. doi:10.3109/07434618.2014.971492. hdl:10536/DRO/DU:30072729. PMID 25379709.
  41. 1 2 Talan, Jamie (January 12, 1993). "An End to Silence? A controversial, new computer technique sweeps through the autistic community, offering the hope of communication". Newsday. No. Nassau Edition. Long Island, New York. p. 51.
  42. 1 2 Libman, Gary (November 17, 1992). "A controversial technique may be the key to providing sufferers with a way to communicate: unlocking autism". Los Angeles Times. No. Home Edition. Los Angeles, California. p. 1.
  43. ↑ Spake, Amanda (May 31, 1992). "Skeptics and Believers; Facilitated Communication Debate". The Washington Post. No. Final Edition. p. w22. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  44. ↑ Rose, Kim (June 14, 1992). "Enabling the diabled simple keyboard technique heps severely impaired communicate". Los Angeles Times. No. Orange County Edition. Los Angeles, California.
  45. ↑ Goleman, Daniel (July 13, 1993). "Hope and skepticism". New York Times. No. Late Edition (East Coast). New York, New York. p. C.1.
  46. 1 2 3 Boodman, Sandra G. (January 17, 1995). "Can autistic children be reaching through "Facilitated Communication"? Scientists say no". The Washington Post. No. Final Edition. Washington, D.C. p. z.01. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  47. ↑ Berger, Joseph (February 12, 1994). "Shatteringthe silence autism; new communication method is hailed as a miracle and derided as a dangerous sham". New York Times. No. Late Edition (East Coast). New York, New York. p. 1.21. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  48. 1 2 3 Rimland, Bernard (1999). "The ABA Controversy" (PDF). Autism Research Review International. 13 (3): 3.
  49. ↑ Winter, Jessica (February 12, 2024). "The Argument Over a Long-Standing Autism Intervention". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
  50. ↑ Hawkins, Beth (March 6, 2024). "America's Most Popular Autism Therapy May Not Work — and May Seriously Harm Patients' Mental Health". The 74. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
  51. ↑ DeVita-Raeburn, Elizabeth (August 10, 2016). "The controversy over autism's most common therapy". The Transmitter. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
  52. ↑ Ondash, E'Louise. "'Miracle' device delivers relief, but it's illegal". newspapers.com. North County Times. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  53. ↑ "AUTCOM - What is the "Right to Effective Treatment"?". autcom.org. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  54. ↑ "ASAT Supports Proven Treatments and Informed Choice". Association for Science in Autism Treatment. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
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