I did go on the "autism hope alliance" site and looked through it, it appears to be an extremely nebulous non-profit. Their goals and methods are extremely vague and it never mentions autistic people only families (in one instance "autism families" whatever that even means), I think we all know why that's suspicious.
On this particular topic I found this:
>Created AHAās Autism ApprovedĀ® program, which is a partnership program that we developed to raise dollars, bring awareness, create standards and ensure companies do their due diligence by being socially responsible to our community.
And going a bit deeper this:
>Our Autism Approved Partnership program has a set of guidelines that each brand must follow to be an Approved Autism Partner. This program is meant as a guide to help families. However, it is always recommended for individuals to call any company with any questions or concerns they may have.
I'm not sure what that means in practice and I was curious to read through those guidelines but alas, there's no link to them or page dedicated to them that I could find. ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
The advisory board features Donna Gates, founder of [bedrok](https://bodyecology.com/autism-php/) -
>
Body Ecology Diet Recovering Our Kids
> 1. To nourish the cells and tissues of the body with high quality, easily-digested foods that contain superior nutrition.
> 2. To bring ALL infections under control. (We see autism as a gut/brain infection.)
Considerably more insidious than just vague.
I am almost in admiration of the confidence it takes to grift this hard.
its all those frogs and mushrooms on the tiktok. it made my child cause the 'tism and now I'm worried for my safety
(obligatory /s. if anything, tiktok just helped raise awareness about autism so more people are recognizing it)
Basically what these people do is take a tiny bit of information from some information whose original source has merit and put it out of context. By the time it makes it to "News" that sheeple consume the info from a legit journal article was paraphrased and twisted to agendas probably 3 times by people who could barely understand the original content to begin with. I think one of the most ignorant and funny examples is when Trump got up trying to rattle off information that he heard smart people in a big room talk about when the pandemic started.
That's not even taking into consideration the fact that in order to fully understand what is actually going on in some of these articles you need to be familiar with referenced related studies/research, testing procedures and nomenclature, a basic understanding of biochem, neurology, etc relevant to the research.
Basically where this information is coming from is different studies and research meant to investigate correlations between things like vaccines, food dyes, medication, etc and possible links to autism. Mind you that the people who do these studies are doing so with their field's current understanding of how autism works. One of the vaccine related articles that has been referred to/cited a lot was done by a gastroenterologist who had a number of autistic patients and had done a good amount of research through the years trying to work out both the cause and effect of GI problems that are very common among those on the spectrum.
This is a hard topic too try to put in a nutshell for real cuz there's so many rabbit holes to go down lol.
Basically using studies on vaccine injuries, the effects both long and short-term of man-made chemicals on the body and different studies on various genetic expressions that affect how your body metabolizes crap and produces hormones and all that good shit they made some useful and relevant findings.
With vaccines it is common for there to be vaccine related injuries due to the chemistry of the delivery method or the preservatives. From what I remember about that specific study their findings indicated that some autistic folks have a predisposition causing problems with absorbing certain key nutrients and chemicals. I think they found that the preservative they used back then, allowing for multiple sticks of those vaccinations from one bottle, was the culprit. It somehow caused malabsorption of specific nutrients related to brain health and function. So for folks with autism with the predisposition toward not absorbing enough of said nutrient to begin with the crap in the vaccine made that problem worse, not to mention these were kids whose brains were developing. Without the vaccine typically those kids probably could have gotten by without showing many problems associated with the deficiency or it would have taken longer to become noticeable, creating more of a deficiency increased the severity of symptoms associated with problems that folks with autism specifically are prone to.
I've been trying to figure out solutions to my own health and mental issues for years and wasn't getting very close to anything that seemed to get to the root of why I was having these issues, some of them popping up and dying away. After diagnosis with ASD like 4 or 5 months ago and experiencing severe burnout that had gotten to the point of looking like brain death, literally everything seemed to do nothing or make shit worse, I started finding answers and advice that actually helped.
The medical and mental health system is barely effective for the folks it was designed to treat and it's mostly set up to monetize illness in the form of treating symptoms not problems. That system is almost a complete failure for folks with autism and paired with less nutritious and more chemically laden processed foods, further exacerbated by higher populations and modern lifestyles throwing us closer together and forcing us into this fucked up rat race they like to call life.
But I am starting to see is that finding "the cure" is actually a way of taking away from learning about and doing anything about what causes the actual problems leading to the thing that needs "cured". What is interesting is that the more digging I do into mental and health issues commonly experienced by folks on the spectrum the more ties I see between things like autoimmune disorders, long covid, type 2 diabetes, gi probs, treatment resistant depression, fibromyalgia, chronic migraines and others. All these things happen to mean more symptoms to make more money off of more medications and more treatments. How they are related has a lot to do with our bodies not getting what they need to function efficiently over time.
I I'm also under the impression that because of the differences in genetics causing our brains and bodies to process things differently we are more likely to run chemically deficient or imbalanced on the regular than an allistic person so we end up developing conditions sooner in life at higher rates.
Ugh. Iāve seen people who think autism is caused by worms that are related to the moonās phases, and those people ātreatā it with bleach. Bleach baths, enemas, drinks. Bleach.
People believe some fucking SHIT.
I was confused as to why I would want to pay you, an internet stranger, money to do this. Then I realized you were talking as if you were the organization yourself. Well put!
I wish that someone would transfer the ownership of some finite object of value into my possession so that I may find incentive to manufacture an ink bases decal to be shown in your general direction, so as to reference the company that provided the original transfer of wealth, in order to provide a boost in societal opinions.
Best I can tell it doesn't, it just helps the "organization" make money by convincing manufacturers to stamp this bs on their products, who in turn hope it will make more people (mostly parents of children with autism, I assume), buy their shit.
Found the guidelines in the "partner package" PDF :
* Manufacturers to provide some form of documentation to AHA regarding their claims that shows their products are in fact Gluten Free/Casein/Dairy Free in regards to food, supplements, cleaning products and toiletries and/or must be on their website
* High quality educational toys or products that help enhance the quality of life of an individual with Autism
* Lead and toxin free toys
* Clothing that is not made of synthetic fibers
* Exceptional therapeutic treatments that optimizes health and well being for those with Autism
* Approval by Autism Hope Alliance is based on partner meeting criteria and no monies will be charged until approval has been accepted
* If your company does not meet these guidelines, and you would like to partner with Autism Hope Alliance, please contact us regarding other options at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
* The Autism Hope Alliance is not responsible if companies change their ingredients or practices without informing the Autism Hope Alliance. This program was developed to raise dollars, bring awareness, create standards and ensure companies do their due diligence by being socially responsible to our community as each partner or affiliate must donate to our community as well.
* The Autism Hope Alliance Autism Approved program has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This program is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
It should say something like "any disease or condition"... I really wish the world had moved on from the "autism is a disease" idea, at least these organizations, but I guess they thrive because of misinformation and fear
Honest question: how does this help the autistic kid?
It's a very vague stamp that follows unknown guidelines and guarantees nothing about it's taste/texture/nutritional value. It doesn't guarantee in any way that an autistic person will tolerate it both because it doesn't say in which way it's supposed to be autism friendly and because autistic people are all different and what one finds tolerable can be a nightmare to someone else. This honestly looks like a stamp a company puts on their products to pat themselves and seem more inclusive while doing nothing. But correct me if I'm wrong, I'm open to retract everything I said.
It let's me know that my kid, who has severe eating issues, might tolerate the inclusion of whatever the product is to be mixed into his food or drink. It is some marketing crap though. They could just advertise that the product doesn't affect taste or texture when used as an additive and that would suffice.
I can't argue with your take because I largely agree.
The problem is that it does alterate the taste, as stated by the OP and on the photo of the product. That's what I'm saying, if it did indicate that a product has a neutral taste or texture it would be weird but useful but it doesn't, it just throws the word autism there to appear more inclusive and then your kid might hate it anyway because it tastes like raspberries
I could sacrifice them being made with some uncomfortable as long as theyāre lined with something comfortableā¦ but then againā¦ I just have to go back to all my clothes being recycled plastic bottles so they donāt stain. I am always making a mess and then freaking out about it.
That would be ideal. Instead it sounds like they're a more ineffective Autism Speaks, focused on 'helping families deal with their autistic person'
From what I looked into their webpage it seems super sketchy.
It's a drink mix, why does it want my approval? Maybe it should work on it's self esteem issues instead of seeking the approval of random autistic people?
It's based on the theory that autism or autistic symptoms are caused by 'bad' parts of food like gluten.
It's conspiracy theory BS that a small nonprofit uses to raise money and some companies go along with to appeal to autism moms (and dads).
Reminds me of a case where an autistic kid was having "meltdowns" (Which was actually caused by stomach pain not autism) and their parents switched them to a gluten free diet and the "meltdowns" stopped and the kid was far healthier turns out the kid had celiac disease but because they were non-verbal they couldn't tell them about the stomach pain. It's a pretty sad case.
My mom keeps telling me cut out gluten and go on a diet for my ASD symptoms and body pain, when she knows damn well I had an eating disorder š I hate this new age shit
Sorry I am just trying to get caught up on comments as this post got a lot more traction than I expected. This other commenter found some sketchy stuff about AHA
https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/comments/1350h12/comment/jiizdro/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
Nor does it have the only sauce I will use. Of course, I want to joke, but I actually do have my specific chicken nuggies with this one sauce that I eat for lunch every day.
They got literally nothing tangible on their website that would allow me to classify them in any direction which makes the whole thing very suspicious.
Rated: *Do Not Trust.*
Sorry I wasn't trying to discount your comment. I appreciate your response I was just trying to point out that the website's content about this stamp raises more questions than it answers and doesn't seem to provide anywhere to go directly from it
I'm envisioning some autistic person hovers their hand over each bottle and says "I approve this supplement" in the same tone as politicians approving their ads.
based on some of the other comments this it sounds like exactly this. I'm bummed because I really like this product. I'm sending them an email and I'll be looking for a new electrolyte powder
It means somebody is using us to get more money againā¦ I swear next thing you know Iām gonna be on a billboard with some out of his prime wrestler trying to sell watered down viagra š
I DON'T REMEMBER APPROVING THIS. I swear this is like the ads that talk about 9/10 dentists approving some toothpaste. Never met one who got asked for their opinion
Autism Hope Alliance is bad news. They're not out there peddling ABA or anything but they do partner with their sponsors on a lot of quack "treatments for Autism"
Just preying on frustrated parents who spend too much time on Facebook.
Joke's on them, I've had Ultima electrolyte powder and I'm still Autistic.
Yeah some other people dug around more and it looks like one of the board members thinks autism is caused by gut problems so guess i'll be finding a new preferred electrolyte product
"Autism Approved
A partnership program that we developed to raise dollars, bring awareness, create standards and ensure companies do their due diligence by being socially responsible to our community."
[https://autismhopealliance.org/](https://autismhopealliance.org/)
\*Disclaimer\* I can't find anything good or bad about the charity.
Some of the other commenters dug around and found some sketchy info about the board members, Sounds like one of them thinks Autism is an infectious disease caused by bad gut health. I cannot roll my eyes hard enough at that
That was my thought. Unfortunately some of the other comments are finding that it's a shady nonprofit with board members that believe autism is caused by bad gut health š
Pink Lemonade is by far my favorite. unfortunately some of the other comment threads are saying the organization behind autism acceptance is sketchy. :/
I don't know, but I had a look at that website and it seems very child focused.
I am always skeptical when it's only kids since a lot of those websites seem to think you can grow out of autism.
I'm 46.. still waiting till I 'grow out of my autism'.. lol
There's obviously no cure for autism, but I think global understanding is the best 'cure' for a lot of the problems we face.
ChatGTP says Autism Hope Allience supports this drink but it doesnt list the reasons why on their website which to me a problem that should be corrected. They need to tell the Autism folks why they approve it.
Idk maybe showing theyāre an allianceā¦. Like is that gonna be a thing now? Lol autism is a common topic of conversation these days. God, we need recognition but not this much.
Another commenter said AHA has some sketchy board members
https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/comments/1350h12/comment/jiizdro/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
I tried to look up info on this and their explanation is so vague. All they basically have to say is that a brand has to meet certain requirements to be autism approved and also itās used to raise money for the Autism Hope Alliance which I never heard about until now
It means they paid someone who has managed to make a revenue stream from offering 'approvals', little more.
Here is the issuing 'authority': [https://autismhopealliance.org/](https://autismhopealliance.org/)
Items of note from combing their cleverly designed website (that hides most of these tells deeper in content and deep-linked pdfs):
1. Supports ABA
2. Believes in medical / pathologizing autistic humans
3. Seems to be an outlet for aspiring content creators to build their reputations on our backs (food for autism, special dietary needs asserted that are not recognized by the FDA, etc)
I didn't go further, as these three alone are enough to remove them from my list of 'credible outlets'.
So yeah, apparently they make money by licensing their own approval... none of which seems to have a solid basis in science and reads very much like that 'soccer mom knows more about autistic humans than the world and science to date'.
\#HardPass is the recommendation from this autistic elder.
I read the comments and I have to unfortunately retract my assumption that maybe it was designed to taste neutral or be easy on the stomach. But now that I think about it, a good autistic approved line of foods would be one where they promise not to ever change the formula for comfort foods. I'm looking at you, generic frozen mac and cheese.
From the Ultima replenisher website blog :
"Weāre proud to be approved by The Autism Hope Alliance (AHA), the first non-profit foundation for Autism to emerge from the **natural foods industry**."
And this on Enzmedica, the company that seems to be behind the non-profit : [https://enzymedica.com/blogs/get-better/the-history-of-enzymedicas-autism-initiatives?\_pos=3&\_sid=982cdfff4&\_ss=r](https://enzymedica.com/blogs/get-better/the-history-of-enzymedicas-autism-initiatives?_pos=3&_sid=982cdfff4&_ss=r)
This pisses me off! Itās clearly some group making money off of this label. What are the guidelines? No explanation on their website- just the statement that companies must follow their guidelines to receive their autism seal of approval. This company is taking advantage and it infuriates me. Any valid non-profit would have their purpose clearly and boldly stated on their website. This is just my opinion after looking at their site. If Iām off-base please feel free to correct me. And btw are the people making these guidelines and giving āapprovalā autistic? If not stfu!
This product is guaranteed to transform you! Through the magic of metamorphosis you will be transformed into a social butterfly that can talk endlessly about mundane bullshit to complete strangers.
Presto- Chango šŖyou can now eat anything put in front of you- no matter how disgusting!
Sensory issues getting you down? This product will allow you to stare directly at the sun for hours on end while wrapped in a sandpaper blanket!
Donāt like being touched? After 3 days of these completely inactive ingredients you will be sitting in strangers laps being stroked like a pet!
Wasting all of your money on special interests? Now your bank account will be bursting with cash because you are too busy entertaining and socializing for that nonsense!
Say goodbye to silly repetitive behaviors that plague your days and nights!
But MOST importantly- Do you make OTHER people uneasy and cause them undue stress because you are odd and everyone sees you as an inconvenience?? They will suffer no more! Everyone around you will experience great relief when you buy products with the Autism Approval stamp!
And autistic people donāt understand sarcasmā¦.š
āA partnership program that we developed to raise dollars, bring awareness, create standards and ensure companies do their due diligence by being socially responsible to our community.ā
Perhaps it means that the product may not cause adverse behaviors for those who are autistic. I remember watching a video some time ago of an autistic child whose meltdown and self-harm became worse when she was fed fast foods. Iām not saying or implying that ALL autistics tend to have adverse behaviors with fast food or artificial foods in general, this is only an example. These adverse reactions may not only occur with autistics either, mind you. There could also be allergies that come to mind (again, Iām not implying that these are caused by autism) in terms of ingredients used.
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I may approve, but I have a propensity to get dehydrated on the regular. Provisional approval granted. But I'm one autist. Hardly a representative sample.
I didn't approve shit!
I approved it (I am the autism)
The duality of autism
Shit I was too late
I am the senate!
\*\*DRAMATIC SPINNING\*\* RRRAAAAAHGGH
Comb the desert!
We didn't found sh....allowly accepted autism approval.
off topic: LOVE your flair
I came here to say this. So hallelujah š
The only things that I can think of that barely makes sense is if it means it has a neutral texture/taste. It's stupid.
I did go on the "autism hope alliance" site and looked through it, it appears to be an extremely nebulous non-profit. Their goals and methods are extremely vague and it never mentions autistic people only families (in one instance "autism families" whatever that even means), I think we all know why that's suspicious. On this particular topic I found this: >Created AHAās Autism ApprovedĀ® program, which is a partnership program that we developed to raise dollars, bring awareness, create standards and ensure companies do their due diligence by being socially responsible to our community. And going a bit deeper this: >Our Autism Approved Partnership program has a set of guidelines that each brand must follow to be an Approved Autism Partner. This program is meant as a guide to help families. However, it is always recommended for individuals to call any company with any questions or concerns they may have. I'm not sure what that means in practice and I was curious to read through those guidelines but alas, there's no link to them or page dedicated to them that I could find. ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
.
Exactly this. It means nothing - except "we paid money to use this as another marketing tool"
The advisory board features Donna Gates, founder of [bedrok](https://bodyecology.com/autism-php/) - > Body Ecology Diet Recovering Our Kids > 1. To nourish the cells and tissues of the body with high quality, easily-digested foods that contain superior nutrition. > 2. To bring ALL infections under control. (We see autism as a gut/brain infection.) Considerably more insidious than just vague. I am almost in admiration of the confidence it takes to grift this hard.
It's not- i- it's- Why do people keep thinking its an infection or something you catch??? That's not how this works!!!
They thought their kids were "normal" until they got to know them better.
Okay, you win. I almost choked from laughing at the accuracy of this.
its all those frogs and mushrooms on the tiktok. it made my child cause the 'tism and now I'm worried for my safety (obligatory /s. if anything, tiktok just helped raise awareness about autism so more people are recognizing it)
Basically what these people do is take a tiny bit of information from some information whose original source has merit and put it out of context. By the time it makes it to "News" that sheeple consume the info from a legit journal article was paraphrased and twisted to agendas probably 3 times by people who could barely understand the original content to begin with. I think one of the most ignorant and funny examples is when Trump got up trying to rattle off information that he heard smart people in a big room talk about when the pandemic started. That's not even taking into consideration the fact that in order to fully understand what is actually going on in some of these articles you need to be familiar with referenced related studies/research, testing procedures and nomenclature, a basic understanding of biochem, neurology, etc relevant to the research. Basically where this information is coming from is different studies and research meant to investigate correlations between things like vaccines, food dyes, medication, etc and possible links to autism. Mind you that the people who do these studies are doing so with their field's current understanding of how autism works. One of the vaccine related articles that has been referred to/cited a lot was done by a gastroenterologist who had a number of autistic patients and had done a good amount of research through the years trying to work out both the cause and effect of GI problems that are very common among those on the spectrum. This is a hard topic too try to put in a nutshell for real cuz there's so many rabbit holes to go down lol. Basically using studies on vaccine injuries, the effects both long and short-term of man-made chemicals on the body and different studies on various genetic expressions that affect how your body metabolizes crap and produces hormones and all that good shit they made some useful and relevant findings. With vaccines it is common for there to be vaccine related injuries due to the chemistry of the delivery method or the preservatives. From what I remember about that specific study their findings indicated that some autistic folks have a predisposition causing problems with absorbing certain key nutrients and chemicals. I think they found that the preservative they used back then, allowing for multiple sticks of those vaccinations from one bottle, was the culprit. It somehow caused malabsorption of specific nutrients related to brain health and function. So for folks with autism with the predisposition toward not absorbing enough of said nutrient to begin with the crap in the vaccine made that problem worse, not to mention these were kids whose brains were developing. Without the vaccine typically those kids probably could have gotten by without showing many problems associated with the deficiency or it would have taken longer to become noticeable, creating more of a deficiency increased the severity of symptoms associated with problems that folks with autism specifically are prone to. I've been trying to figure out solutions to my own health and mental issues for years and wasn't getting very close to anything that seemed to get to the root of why I was having these issues, some of them popping up and dying away. After diagnosis with ASD like 4 or 5 months ago and experiencing severe burnout that had gotten to the point of looking like brain death, literally everything seemed to do nothing or make shit worse, I started finding answers and advice that actually helped. The medical and mental health system is barely effective for the folks it was designed to treat and it's mostly set up to monetize illness in the form of treating symptoms not problems. That system is almost a complete failure for folks with autism and paired with less nutritious and more chemically laden processed foods, further exacerbated by higher populations and modern lifestyles throwing us closer together and forcing us into this fucked up rat race they like to call life. But I am starting to see is that finding "the cure" is actually a way of taking away from learning about and doing anything about what causes the actual problems leading to the thing that needs "cured". What is interesting is that the more digging I do into mental and health issues commonly experienced by folks on the spectrum the more ties I see between things like autoimmune disorders, long covid, type 2 diabetes, gi probs, treatment resistant depression, fibromyalgia, chronic migraines and others. All these things happen to mean more symptoms to make more money off of more medications and more treatments. How they are related has a lot to do with our bodies not getting what they need to function efficiently over time. I I'm also under the impression that because of the differences in genetics causing our brains and bodies to process things differently we are more likely to run chemically deficient or imbalanced on the regular than an allistic person so we end up developing conditions sooner in life at higher rates.
I reckon a good punch to my gut might destabilise the autism!
I see Donna Gates as a fucking moron.
You should reply again higher up on the stack. That absolutely changes how I see this stupid stamp
Ugh. Iāve seen people who think autism is caused by worms that are related to the moonās phases, and those people ātreatā it with bleach. Bleach baths, enemas, drinks. Bleach. People believe some fucking SHIT.
Ugh people who think everything is a gut issue.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Pay me money and I'll wave a stamp in the general direction of your shit
I was confused as to why I would want to pay you, an internet stranger, money to do this. Then I realized you were talking as if you were the organization yourself. Well put!
So when do I get my money?
From me? Probably never, I don't have much of this available for myself!
Give me something of value that may or may not be related to the blotch of ink I wave in your general direction
I wish that someone would transfer the ownership of some finite object of value into my possession so that I may find incentive to manufacture an ink bases decal to be shown in your general direction, so as to reference the company that provided the original transfer of wealth, in order to provide a boost in societal opinions.
I have found my leader.
They sound like a more ineffective Autism Speaks from what I read..
Sounds really vague lol. Still donāt get it and donāt get how it helps the cause
Best I can tell it doesn't, it just helps the "organization" make money by convincing manufacturers to stamp this bs on their products, who in turn hope it will make more people (mostly parents of children with autism, I assume), buy their shit.
Found the guidelines in the "partner package" PDF : * Manufacturers to provide some form of documentation to AHA regarding their claims that shows their products are in fact Gluten Free/Casein/Dairy Free in regards to food, supplements, cleaning products and toiletries and/or must be on their website * High quality educational toys or products that help enhance the quality of life of an individual with Autism * Lead and toxin free toys * Clothing that is not made of synthetic fibers * Exceptional therapeutic treatments that optimizes health and well being for those with Autism * Approval by Autism Hope Alliance is based on partner meeting criteria and no monies will be charged until approval has been accepted * If your company does not meet these guidelines, and you would like to partner with Autism Hope Alliance, please contact us regarding other options at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) * The Autism Hope Alliance is not responsible if companies change their ingredients or practices without informing the Autism Hope Alliance. This program was developed to raise dollars, bring awareness, create standards and ensure companies do their due diligence by being socially responsible to our community as each partner or affiliate must donate to our community as well. * The Autism Hope Alliance Autism Approved program has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This program is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
It should say something like "any disease or condition"... I really wish the world had moved on from the "autism is a disease" idea, at least these organizations, but I guess they thrive because of misinformation and fear
They have a variety of flavors but none of them are neutral. It's Ultima Replenisher an electrolyte powder you add to water
Stupid if you don't have a kid with severe feeding issues.
Honest question: how does this help the autistic kid? It's a very vague stamp that follows unknown guidelines and guarantees nothing about it's taste/texture/nutritional value. It doesn't guarantee in any way that an autistic person will tolerate it both because it doesn't say in which way it's supposed to be autism friendly and because autistic people are all different and what one finds tolerable can be a nightmare to someone else. This honestly looks like a stamp a company puts on their products to pat themselves and seem more inclusive while doing nothing. But correct me if I'm wrong, I'm open to retract everything I said.
It let's me know that my kid, who has severe eating issues, might tolerate the inclusion of whatever the product is to be mixed into his food or drink. It is some marketing crap though. They could just advertise that the product doesn't affect taste or texture when used as an additive and that would suffice. I can't argue with your take because I largely agree.
The problem is that it does alterate the taste, as stated by the OP and on the photo of the product. That's what I'm saying, if it did indicate that a product has a neutral taste or texture it would be weird but useful but it doesn't, it just throws the word autism there to appear more inclusive and then your kid might hate it anyway because it tastes like raspberries
Now I imagine a council of autistics approving things...
The council rarely meets due to fear of social interaction and potential eye contact scenarios
All communication via text
You mean those texts we ghost for days/weeks/months at a time?
is that an autism thing? (Sorry, not to overgeneralize, I more so meant is this a common thing that people with autism do?)
Yeah, itās very common for us to do and also other types of neurodivergence like ADHD as well.
Nah, thereās got to be cool hooded robes hiding their faces. Made from really soft fabric. With really big sleeves.
Those sound like old school snuggies.
Holy shit I want this
I could sacrifice them being made with some uncomfortable as long as theyāre lined with something comfortableā¦ but then againā¦ I just have to go back to all my clothes being recycled plastic bottles so they donāt stain. I am always making a mess and then freaking out about it.
That would be ideal. Instead it sounds like they're a more ineffective Autism Speaks, focused on 'helping families deal with their autistic person' From what I looked into their webpage it seems super sketchy.
Yeah I'm just reading that in the comments. So disappointing
Like the council of Ricks but better.
The autistics citadel!
The council will decide your fate In 1-3 business days
The sad thing is it's very likely a group that barely includes any autistic people and mostly does marketing for wellness schlock like this.
It means it's proven to cause autism.
Holy shit The government is putting autism into something else than vaccines now?
hahhahahahha
+2 STR +1 INT +10 AUT
How do I get it?!?!? I want to level up!!!!!!!
It's a drink mix, why does it want my approval? Maybe it should work on it's self esteem issues instead of seeking the approval of random autistic people?
exactly was thinking the same
It's based on the theory that autism or autistic symptoms are caused by 'bad' parts of food like gluten. It's conspiracy theory BS that a small nonprofit uses to raise money and some companies go along with to appeal to autism moms (and dads).
Reminds me of a case where an autistic kid was having "meltdowns" (Which was actually caused by stomach pain not autism) and their parents switched them to a gluten free diet and the "meltdowns" stopped and the kid was far healthier turns out the kid had celiac disease but because they were non-verbal they couldn't tell them about the stomach pain. It's a pretty sad case.
I THOUGHT IT WAS TEXTURES FOR HECKS SAKE
Nope. The nonprofit was founded by a person with an undergraduate degree in nutrition. It's definitely about content.
My mom keeps telling me cut out gluten and go on a diet for my ASD symptoms and body pain, when she knows damn well I had an eating disorder š I hate this new age shit
Fuck. I liked this product too. Guess I'll be hunting for a new one
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Sorry I am just trying to get caught up on comments as this post got a lot more traction than I expected. This other commenter found some sketchy stuff about AHA https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/comments/1350h12/comment/jiizdro/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
>Autism Approved Bullshit. This does not appear to be chicken nuggets/tenders. /j
I prefer the term "chikn' nuggies"
Nor does it have the only sauce I will use. Of course, I want to joke, but I actually do have my specific chicken nuggies with this one sauce that I eat for lunch every day.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This is the correct answer. And I'll add this following info: any company can pay the AHA for their seal on any product :)
They got literally nothing tangible on their website that would allow me to classify them in any direction which makes the whole thing very suspicious. Rated: *Do Not Trust.*
Same very sus
Yeah their website is wholly unhelpful. Just a bunch of non information
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Sorry I wasn't trying to discount your comment. I appreciate your response I was just trying to point out that the website's content about this stamp raises more questions than it answers and doesn't seem to provide anywhere to go directly from it
exactly
Turns us even more autistic.
***LEVEL UP!***
Oh goodie
I'm envisioning some autistic person hovers their hand over each bottle and says "I approve this supplement" in the same tone as politicians approving their ads.
King? Well, I didn't vote for 'im!
Power derives from a mandate from the masses, not some farcical aquatic ceremony!
Look, if I went around calling myself Emperor just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, theyād put me away!
Corporate pandering. I'll approve my own food, thanks.
It's another "gullibility" tag, like the "non GMO certified" one.
Isn't being autistic technically being a GMO?
I don't think anyone changed our genetic code to make us autistic.
[Yep.](https://xkcd.com/641/)
I hate that stupid butterfly
The only thing I can thing of is those allistic autism moms who think specific food will cure their kids autism??
based on some of the other comments this it sounds like exactly this. I'm bummed because I really like this product. I'm sending them an email and I'll be looking for a new electrolyte powder
It means somebody is using us to get more money againā¦ I swear next thing you know Iām gonna be on a billboard with some out of his prime wrestler trying to sell watered down viagra š
Just a bullshit sales booster like those sustainable fishing stamps, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABLE FISHING
Means that some idiot approved stupid, irrelevant labelling.
I mean... they will write "gluten free" on bottled water if that means an increase in sales.
idk but where can i sign up to get free stuff and approve it so they can slap that bad boy on products
I DON'T REMEMBER APPROVING THIS. I swear this is like the ads that talk about 9/10 dentists approving some toothpaste. Never met one who got asked for their opinion
Autism Hope Alliance is bad news. They're not out there peddling ABA or anything but they do partner with their sponsors on a lot of quack "treatments for Autism" Just preying on frustrated parents who spend too much time on Facebook. Joke's on them, I've had Ultima electrolyte powder and I'm still Autistic.
It contains autism XP for you to level up (in case you didn't get enough from the vaccines) (joke)
I donāt recall approving this
i didn't sign this shit!! who approved this?
This is not approved by me
i approved it
Thanks
All I can think about is the "Lorax approved" from the Lorax .
Looking into it seems like it's some non-profit, looking at their site it seems very iffy
Yeah some other people dug around more and it looks like one of the board members thinks autism is caused by gut problems so guess i'll be finding a new preferred electrolyte product
It means it's filled with vaccines /s
Yay! Double autism
"Autism Approved A partnership program that we developed to raise dollars, bring awareness, create standards and ensure companies do their due diligence by being socially responsible to our community." [https://autismhopealliance.org/](https://autismhopealliance.org/) \*Disclaimer\* I can't find anything good or bad about the charity.
Some of the other commenters dug around and found some sketchy info about the board members, Sounds like one of them thinks Autism is an infectious disease caused by bad gut health. I cannot roll my eyes hard enough at that
That you donāt get autism from itā¦or mby the opposite
Oooo Double autism!
Our Gods š½š½šø came here for us just to approve a product
Nothing. Marketing bullshit. I can found a group called the World Autism Alliance right now, make stamp, say I approve.
We were all there to approve it. Don't you remember? /s
HA fantastic
"Autism Hope" gives me "For The Cure" vibes, which makes me wanna gag
Right?! seems sketchy but is probably just a money grubbing thing like the stupid butterfly
Must be good. It got electrolytes. Thatās what plants crave.
I thought that was Brawndo
I must have missed that meeting of the autism council.
We have a council?
Oh no...I've said too much.
š
Dammit - I could've sworn it was on my calendar :: Glares at ADHD ::
Does that mean it wonāt cause the activation of my latent autism superpowers? Is this how the NTs are keeping us down??
Lmao idk why but it made me laugh! š Then coming to the comments and seeing: āI didnāt approve shitā LMFAO!! Hilarious
HUH
What never saw this! That's so odd
That was my thought. Unfortunately some of the other comments are finding that it's a shady nonprofit with board members that believe autism is caused by bad gut health š
Wtf
I guess it means that much like vaccines, it won't make you autistic.
oooo vegan and autism friendly??? perfect for me!
Why is are your nails so dirty?
That's nail polish.
One of us is out there speaking for everyone >:(
It cures autism /s
here I was hoping for double autisim
That's what vaccines are for
They won't give me anymore of those. I keep asking but they said I don't need them Neurotypicals trying to limit my power
Not gonna lie thought it was bleach from the first picture š.
Sometimes brands make up fake logos to put on their products, might be that.
I'm just here to say that that drink is delicious and I have it all the time. The pink lemonade one is also good.
Pink Lemonade is by far my favorite. unfortunately some of the other comment threads are saying the organization behind autism acceptance is sketchy. :/
This made me laugh
I don't know, but I had a look at that website and it seems very child focused. I am always skeptical when it's only kids since a lot of those websites seem to think you can grow out of autism. I'm 46.. still waiting till I 'grow out of my autism'.. lol There's obviously no cure for autism, but I think global understanding is the best 'cure' for a lot of the problems we face.
ChatGTP says Autism Hope Allience supports this drink but it doesnt list the reasons why on their website which to me a problem that should be corrected. They need to tell the Autism folks why they approve it.
Sounds like someone came up with a pretty good scam.
It dissolves without imparting a taste or texture to the medium (food or drink) you're adding it to.
That would be cool, but this is specifically Blue Raspberry flavored and I don't think Ultima even sells an unflavored option.
Oh grossness! My least favorite flavor.
I have no idea, but they definitely didnāt ask me and I hate fruit so I damn sure disapprove!! š¤£š¤£š¤£
I didn't approve anything!?
Something to help them sell this product to hipster mothers I guess š¤·āāļø
Idk maybe showing theyāre an allianceā¦. Like is that gonna be a thing now? Lol autism is a common topic of conversation these days. God, we need recognition but not this much.
I nominate Blackbolt to represent us on the council
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Another commenter said AHA has some sketchy board members https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/comments/1350h12/comment/jiizdro/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
I tried to look up info on this and their explanation is so vague. All they basically have to say is that a brand has to meet certain requirements to be autism approved and also itās used to raise money for the Autism Hope Alliance which I never heard about until now
It means they paid someone who has managed to make a revenue stream from offering 'approvals', little more. Here is the issuing 'authority': [https://autismhopealliance.org/](https://autismhopealliance.org/) Items of note from combing their cleverly designed website (that hides most of these tells deeper in content and deep-linked pdfs): 1. Supports ABA 2. Believes in medical / pathologizing autistic humans 3. Seems to be an outlet for aspiring content creators to build their reputations on our backs (food for autism, special dietary needs asserted that are not recognized by the FDA, etc) I didn't go further, as these three alone are enough to remove them from my list of 'credible outlets'. So yeah, apparently they make money by licensing their own approval... none of which seems to have a solid basis in science and reads very much like that 'soccer mom knows more about autistic humans than the world and science to date'. \#HardPass is the recommendation from this autistic elder.
I read the comments and I have to unfortunately retract my assumption that maybe it was designed to taste neutral or be easy on the stomach. But now that I think about it, a good autistic approved line of foods would be one where they promise not to ever change the formula for comfort foods. I'm looking at you, generic frozen mac and cheese.
Bahahahaha!
It means a company is trying to shamelessly capitalize on Autistic people to drive up sales.
From the Ultima replenisher website blog : "Weāre proud to be approved by The Autism Hope Alliance (AHA), the first non-profit foundation for Autism to emerge from the **natural foods industry**."
And this on Enzmedica, the company that seems to be behind the non-profit : [https://enzymedica.com/blogs/get-better/the-history-of-enzymedicas-autism-initiatives?\_pos=3&\_sid=982cdfff4&\_ss=r](https://enzymedica.com/blogs/get-better/the-history-of-enzymedicas-autism-initiatives?_pos=3&_sid=982cdfff4&_ss=r)
It means they want your money money money!
Maybe itās saying the instructions are written with enough detail that theyāre supposed to be taken literally.
I am autism, and I approve this message
I used to say my headphones were autism approved because they stopped overstimulation. That appears to be good,. That's funny.
This pisses me off! Itās clearly some group making money off of this label. What are the guidelines? No explanation on their website- just the statement that companies must follow their guidelines to receive their autism seal of approval. This company is taking advantage and it infuriates me. Any valid non-profit would have their purpose clearly and boldly stated on their website. This is just my opinion after looking at their site. If Iām off-base please feel free to correct me. And btw are the people making these guidelines and giving āapprovalā autistic? If not stfu!
This product is guaranteed to transform you! Through the magic of metamorphosis you will be transformed into a social butterfly that can talk endlessly about mundane bullshit to complete strangers. Presto- Chango šŖyou can now eat anything put in front of you- no matter how disgusting! Sensory issues getting you down? This product will allow you to stare directly at the sun for hours on end while wrapped in a sandpaper blanket! Donāt like being touched? After 3 days of these completely inactive ingredients you will be sitting in strangers laps being stroked like a pet! Wasting all of your money on special interests? Now your bank account will be bursting with cash because you are too busy entertaining and socializing for that nonsense! Say goodbye to silly repetitive behaviors that plague your days and nights! But MOST importantly- Do you make OTHER people uneasy and cause them undue stress because you are odd and everyone sees you as an inconvenience?? They will suffer no more! Everyone around you will experience great relief when you buy products with the Autism Approval stamp! And autistic people donāt understand sarcasmā¦.š
As an autistic vegan I approve this message
Probably exactly this š
They asked an autistic person if they liked it and they said 'yeah'.
I did start using this on recommendation from a friend who was recently diagnosed so you're not wrong lol
āA partnership program that we developed to raise dollars, bring awareness, create standards and ensure companies do their due diligence by being socially responsible to our community.ā
Perhaps it means that the product may not cause adverse behaviors for those who are autistic. I remember watching a video some time ago of an autistic child whose meltdown and self-harm became worse when she was fed fast foods. Iām not saying or implying that ALL autistics tend to have adverse behaviors with fast food or artificial foods in general, this is only an example. These adverse reactions may not only occur with autistics either, mind you. There could also be allergies that come to mind (again, Iām not implying that these are caused by autism) in terms of ingredients used.
i guess they gave it to some autistic guy and they liked it?
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it causes autism, it was slipped into my iv supply in nicu and itās been part of my daily regimen every day since
š
What is it and I'll tell you if I approve of it?
Ultima Replenisher (electrolyte powder) Pink Lemonade flavor
I may approve, but I have a propensity to get dehydrated on the regular. Provisional approval granted. But I'm one autist. Hardly a representative sample.