Polly Tommey and the Autism File
Polly Tommey is feeling the pressure. According to an article she wrote for The Age of Autism leading autism organizations in the UK, academics and celebrities are telling her that her continuing support for Andrew Wakefield is a liability. Even her advertisers are threatening to pull out.
Specifically, I have been “warned” not to print any more articles written by Dr. Andrew Wakefield (he wrote for the first time in the last issue); I was also warned not to invite him to speak at our conference. Separately, some organizations have warned me that they will not have anything to do with me if I continue to support and publish papers by him. Some advertisers tell me they have to stop working with us as they are “under pressure” to pull out, and a number of celebrities, high earning individuals, journalists, scientists, practitioners, and people who want to contribute to the magazine or to our campaigns say that it’s more than their job’s worth to be associated with the work of this man more than their job’s worth to even listen to what he has to say. All of them say that they can’t support The Autism File if The Autism File appears to support Dr. Wakefield.
Tommey presents this as a threat to her editorial integrity. “They” are trying to silence her. The pressure is all “political.” Even people who might want to work with her or write for the Autism File are afraid to because Andrew Wakefield has been discredited and if they identify themselves with his most stalwart supporter in the UK they too could be discredited and marginalized. Academics are afraid of losing their government funding.
Tommey offers no real evidence to support these claims. She describes a meeting with a senior representative of a leading autism organization,
The message I was very clearly given at this meeting was that if The Autism File magazine continued to publish Dr. Wakefield’s work, if I continued to support him publicly, and if I allowed him to speak at our conferences, then they could not work with either me or The Autism File. He also reminded me, very pointedly, that they worked closely with the Department of Health and were the decision makers regarding many important issues relating to autism . . . .
At some unspecified time in the past, some time ago, an unnamed eminent academic was invited to join the scientific advisory board of the Autism File
He was keen but stated he could only do so if certain existing members – specifically including Andrew Wakefield – were removed from it. He then bluntly warned me that if The Autism File continued to support Dr. Wakefield it would be “shut down.” Despite his standing and expertise, his concern was such that ultimately he chose not to even write for our magazine because, he said, “it is too controversial,” and, given that he is funded by the government, he felt that if he did, then his funding would be at risk.
Finally, she tells of the time when she was appearing on a popular daytime TV show, The Wright Stuff.
Before going on air, the host Matthew Wright joined us in the “green room” and said that he had been told by the show’s lawyers that if Dr. Wakefield’s name was mentioned, he had to say that Wakefield was “discredited.” We questioned why, but Matthew said that he had no choice these were his lawyers’ instructions . . . .
When I was on GMTV they said pretty much the same thing, and we have all read the same in many newspapers.
That is the sum total of her evidence, or at least the evidence that she chooses to present to support her claim that
a number of people and organizations have evidently decided that they should be determining the editorial policy of our magazine
But Polly Tommey is unbowed. She sets out to refute all claims that Wakefield has been discredited and restates her commitment to publish reports and stories that are sympathetic to Wakefield and his theories.
Part of Tommey’s problem is that she is a victim of her own success. The Autism File is a professionally produced, attractive read. It’s basic premise is that autism is a medical disorder that responds to biomedical interventions associated with alternative therapists - diet, supplements, chelation etc. Tommey’s husband, Jonathon runs an Autism Clinic which is promoted by The Autism File and offers
Dietary Modifications
Nutritional Supplementation
Immunological Regulation/ Modulation
Homoeopathy
Gastrointestinal Treatments
Liver Support & Enhanced Detoxification (methylation and transulfation)
Glandular Support (adrenals, thyroid and pancreas)
Heavy Metal Clathration(sic) Therapy
Physical Therapies - exercise, massage, reflexology, kinesiology, lymphatic drainage, yoga, breathing and relaxation techniques, etc.
This is the secret of its success. It has a core readership amongst those parents who believe autism has environmental causes that are treatable. These beliefs are never challenged. According to Tommey
The Autism File exists to provide help and support to parents, professionals, and caregivers in understanding autism better by bringing informed articles and opinions on the condition from all over the world and enabling them to then make up their minds about whether this advice will help their families and their children. We have done this for over 10 years and our readers’ feedback supports our continuing to do this.
But the Autism File does this by offering positive endorsements to a number of approaches including non-biomedical aspects of autism like behavioural therapies, educational therapies and services for adults. It does not publish critical views of any of these therapies. Though it may publish opinion pieces about why conventional research that does critique these therapies is flawed. Unlike its American counterparts that sneer at neurodiversity it acknowledges some of the concerns of autistic adults. It is supporting Gary McKinnon’s campaign against extradition to the USA. It boasts Temple Grandin on its editorial board and publishes articles on education by Stephen Shore. These are two autistic individuals, prominent speakers and authors who distinguish themselves by either endorsing biomedical cures (Grandin) or displaying a benign agnosticism (Shore).
The Autism File has been a commercial success. The international edition is on sale in over 2000 bookshops in the USA and Canada, there is a Spanish language edition and the UK magazine is available from W.H. Smiths, Sainsbury’s, Borders, and selected Tesco stores. Tommey has used this success to promote herself as an autism advocate. I have referred in the past to her successful PR campaigns that have resulted in meetings with the Prime Minister and his wife and invitations to speak at seminars.
But all this limelight has brought her support for Andrew Wakefield into focus. This did not matter when the Autism File was a subscription only house magazine for the Andy Wakefield Fan Club. But now the magazine and its proprietor are bidding to go mainstream they are meeting with widespread suspicion and hostility for their support of Wakefield.
In her defence of Wakefield Tommey seems to think that this is all the fault of a couple of journalists; Horton at the Lancet and Deer at the Sunday Times. She fondly imagines that their campaign to discredit Wakefield will all come unstuck when the GMC delivers its verdict on Wakefield this year after a lengthy investigation into accusations of professional misconduct and breaches of research ethics. I do not know what the outcome will be. If the GMC runs true to form it will probably deliver a fudge that satisfies nobody.
Never mind. In one sense the hearings are irrelevant. Wakefield is already discredited because his ideas have been proved wrong. The NAS fudged the vaccine question for years. Now they have come out against a link between MMR and autism because the science overwhelmingly says so. The MMR hypothesis has been tried in the US courts and found wanting.
Tommey poses some of the bigger questions.
• Why is it so important that Dr. Wakefield is seen to be discredited?
• Whom is it important to?
• Who stands to gain from this?
• Who will lose out if the truth is revealed?
• What is it that people are so frightened of?
• What is it they don’t want us to know?
Given the overwhelming nature of the evidence against Wakefield’s theories one could equally ask similar questions of the Autism File itself and its continuing support for Wakefield and anti-vaccine quackery.
