This is a transcript of screen captures of several Autistics calling Bioharmonic Technologies out because they broadcast sounds in the vending area at the ASA 2015 conference, causing an Autistic woman with previously well-controlled epilepsy to have multiple seizures (dozens of seizures over the course of the conference and the days afterward) and then refused to turn off the sound (or put it exclusively through headphones), refused to admit that their product had caused harm, and refused to apologize to the woman who was severely affected by their actions.
(send corrections to unstrangemind at gmail dot com)
The original post:
Bioharmonics Technologies added 7 new photos
Friday at 20:28 edited
It has been a FANTASTIC week at the 47th Annual National Autism Society Conference at the Colorado Convention Center.
As my Bioharmonic Community may have been reading, I had a situation with a woman at the conference who felt as if my music created a problem for her. I know the power of my music, as well as the therapeutic benefits of my work. Thank you all for your support over the years. Enjoy the picture highlights of this amazing event. #hatersgonnahate
Tyler Laing – Delete comments again.
17 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 19:49
Tyler Laing – We do not forget.
20 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 19:49
Tyler Laing – 1) Admit fault.
2) Don’t blame anyone else.
3) Say sorry
4) Come up with a plan to not screw up in the future.
28 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 19:49
Amy Lou Renner – Your music gave her multiple seizures, from which she still has not recovered, you incredible shitlord. It’s absolutely disgusting that you’re bragging about how well that conference went for you, when you seriously endangered a person’s life. How do you even live with yourself, you malignant fraud?
41 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 19:52
Shondolyn Gibson – seriously, the hell is wrong with you? and what is wrong with ASA for inviting a people-endangering quack?
1 like – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 11:06
Tyler Laing – Go ahead. Delete the comments again. We do not forget.
14 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:01
Susan Despres – Your music triggered epileptic seizures in an autistic adult. Does our “Bioharmonic Community” know that? #FirstDoNOHarm
30 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:01
Ivy Blais – Most products have some type of warning. Yours is not alone in its need to carry a “Seizure Warning”.
There is no reason to evade or deny this, no “felt as if”. Your product caused a seizure. This is not something new or unheard of.
Audiogenic Epilepsy been known about for well over two decades now, the New England Journal of Medicine wrote about it in 1991. That’s 24 years ago.
28 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:04
Tyler Laing – Ivy I found a paper discussing the genetics of audiogenic seizures from 1947. (smile face)
7 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:05
Tyler Laing – http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/1/3.full.pdf
3 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:17
Chris Starfire – “I know the power of my music.” Yes, you told people at the event that it negatively affected 30% of Autistic people. And 1 in 3 Autistic people have seizure disorders.
30 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:06
Celestine Stoltenberg – Your “music” caused multiple seizures in a woman with epilepsy. You cannot defend the harm that you caused. You should not be promoting your technology to a population that is prone to seizure disorders. You are endangering people.
33 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:11
Cxene Brooks – Your music has the power to cause epileptic seizures in an autistic adult.
24 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:12
Cxene Brooks – Funny how you claim to help autistic people but when autistic people say what you’re doing is actively harming them you choose to dismiss them. Keep deleting autistic people’s posts to your page you will prove my point. And the hashtag haters gonna hate is extremely disrespectful to autistic people = especially the young lady you dismissed. I ask you: who do you think you are?
16 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:19
Kis Brink – He can dismiss us. Won’t work out well for him in the end but he hasn’t seen the full fury we can unleash yet Most of us have blogs. Most of us have more followers than he does. Get PAWLAA (transcriber’s note: this is PACLA – Parenting Autistic Children with Love and Acceptance) to announce a flashblog and he will be so high in search engines for snake oil sales he was done when he chose what worked for him over her health.
3 likes – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 03:35
Shondolyn Gibson – We going to raise some hell!
1 like – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 11:09
Ivy Blais – It is very important to remember this is not something unique, the list of things which cause seizures is long.
Your product is just one of many which is potentially hazardous, and there is no reason to deny that. Do not down play the hazard your product poses or the harm it has done. Own up. Do the right thing.
Label it and apologize for both the harm and potential harm.
24 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:12
Jesse Needham – Is this why I’m able to levitate when I listen to Celine Deon?
Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:19
Tyler Laing – She hadn’t had major seizures in months and years. You are fault. You screwed up. Because you didn’t listen to a woman. You didn’t believe her. You didn’t trust her. You didn’t give a shit about someone else.
That is despicable.
30 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:33
Shondolyn Gibson – and he’s BRAGGING ABOUT THIS?
Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 11:09
Tyler Laing – I KNOW
Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 11:15
Patricia Anne Carter – Your noise causes people to have seizures. You need to place a seizure warning on your product and you should apologize to the woman who you made ill.
25 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:34
Galen Broaddus – Amazing that you can not only sell this quackery with a straight face but that you are so intent on spreading misinformation that you deny the existence of audiogenic seizures to a person who actually suffers from them. You made it so that she suffered from your auditory garbage and was made unsafe at a conference. You should be ashamed of yourself.
27 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 20:41
Max Harmony – See, actual medicine usually has known adverse side effects. Since music isn’t actual medicine — although, yes, there is evidence that music is generally helpful as an “adjunct” treatment, there’s no need to buy special music for it, just listen to what you like — it obviously can’t have adverse effects!
Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 00:15
Kiah Wolton-Phillips – Your actions are thoroughly irresponsible and dangerous. How you can brag about it is a complete mystery to me, as is why you were even there in the first place.
15 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:00
Ivan Ath. S – Are you such a coward that you won’t even say anything?
10 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:00
Ann-Marie Lynn Doerhoff – I was at this conference and witnessed the incident with the young woman. I’d like to see how many people posting these allegations know exactly what happened. I do. The Bioharmonic Technologies staff acted in a sane, calm, and professional manner. They responded with care and grace. I cannot nearly say the same for those posting comments verging on defamation to a reputable company. It is unfortunate these comments are so misguided from reality. Thank you, Bioharmonic Technologies for having such grace and not feeding into such negative vibrations. In this case, the squeaky wheel stays ungreased.
Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:05
Sara Sanders Gardner – Did you witness her seizure?
3 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:25
Galen Broaddus – Did they deny that audiogenic seizures are real? Did they refuse to shut off the music so that the individual in question could continue to attend the conference without having epileptic seizures as a result of the music?
If either of the above questions can be answered in the affirmative, then the response was neither sane nor professional.
3 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:27
Amy Lou Renner – “reputable company”
4 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:35
Edna VanPyrite Âû – “negative vibrations”
1 like – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:49
Cas Faulds – I’m sorry – was someone who was suffering seizures not behaving sanely enough for your liking? Was someone who was experiencing literally a life-threatening situation not calm enough for you?
Please enlighten us – when faced with something that endangers your life, how are you expected to react?
4 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:19
Tyler Laing – Care and grace is turning the music OFF when someone says it is going to hurt her.
What kind of person are you defending who wouldn’t do that?
3 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:24
Chris Starfire – Ann-Marie, I know exactly what happened. I know the person it happened to. She’s a leading Autistic advocate, extremely well-known, and highly respected, and scrupulously honest.
We’re talking about life-threatening seizures and you’re talking about “negative vibrations”? Seriously? What colour is the sky in your world?
Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:13
Kiah Wolton-Phillips – Ann-Marie Lynn Doerhoff, what a ridiculous thing to say. Have you no idea of the harm caused by these “sane, calm, professional” people?
Why on earth would you be more concerned for their reputation than you are the well being of a person they just caused significant harm to.
By the way, you might want to check the law before quoting it. It’s not defamation if it’s true.
1 like – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:20
Lisa Daniel – Shame on you for:
1. Selling snake oil
2. Giving an autistic woman a seizure
3. Driving said autistic woman out of the conference
1 like – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:23
We’ve Had Enough – Ohio – Ann-Marie Lynn Doerhoff
I hardly think pointing out that 30% of autistic people who tried this “music” experienced adverse effects but he still insisted on broadcasting it through speakers is “insane”.
Please tell me which part of this you have a problem with.
“He is ethically obligated to warn people of this possibility before they listen. He should have used headphones for those interested.
Because he was too irresponsible and heartless to consider the safety of others, even after being told that he was causing a very real, very serious problem for others, one autistic woman had to LEAVE the convention.”
What, exactly, is unreasonable about the above statements?
Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:44
We’ve Had Enough – Ohio – When you’re answering that, I eagerly await your examples of this supposed “sane, calm, and professional manner”. What about this was “sane, calm, and professional”?
Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:40
Edna VanPyrite Âû – Shame on you. #actuallyautistic
Friday, 10 July 2015 at 21:40
Chris Starfire – Ann-Marie, I keep rereading your comment with increasing frustrating that you seem to feel that triggering epileptic seizures isn’t problematic and instead is “negative vibrations”. I am guessing that you know little about epilepsy?
Please, I urge anyone who isn’t familiar with the danger to read about SUDEP:
http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/impact/mortality/sudep
Controlling seizures is vital to living with epilepsy. Exposure to Steven’s music caused seizures that had been controlled for *years*. It’s not a little thing. It’s not an inconvenience. It’s CERTAINLY not “negative vibrations.”
We want Steve to take responsibility for the way he endangered someone. We want him to take responsibility for lying to and about her. We want him to recognize what he did, apologise to her, and to decide he’s going to do better and not endanger others in the same way. Pretty positive, really.
Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:05
Ivan Ath. S – TWENTY fucking seizures in two days, or less. 3 different types.
15 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:17
Lauren Van Vice – I think the problem is that she knows the power of your music too. Because it gave her seizures.
15 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:23
Cas Faulds – I have a question – a genuine one – I notice that the person responsible for this “invention”/”therapy”/whatever you want to call it is a chiropractor. I respect that. I see a chiropractor regularly for my strangely aligned ankles but here’s my question:
Given that autism is a neurological difference and given that this sound thing is supposed to impact on the neurological difference, how much does the person responsible for this company actually know about the workings of the brain?
11 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:26
Ananda Parnell – I do not have autism but I do have a generalized seizure disorder. Had I been there and been negatively affected, I would have done everything I could to go after you for reckless endangerment.
18 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:35
Cindy Facteau – I am not going to attack you, but I will say one thing.
When a person tells you that you have hurt them, you don’t get to decide that you have not.
Have a good night.
26 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:41
Cindy Facteau – P.S. I would be more than happy to look at any scientific studies or research backing any of the claims about your product. You asked me repeatedly to try it during the conference and I repeatedly declined respectfully. I am autistic, and radio frequencies can be painful. Some people swear by neurofeedback, but I have seen people have psychotic breaks after their first treatment. (I use this as an example. I’m still not sure what your product does, and reading comprehension is actually one of my autism superpowers. :-)
You should never claim an approach to be universally safe and/or effective unless you have the raw data and facts to prove it.
18 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:44
Kis Brink – Yes I would be too.
Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 03:26
Leah Pederson – Thank you for inducing 20 seizures in my friend. (Sarcasm)
1 like – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:47
Leah Pederson – Also … if you wish to peddle your woo to the autism community, may I suggest the quack-fest that is Autism One? You’ll fit right in with those who claim bleach enemas cure autism.
2 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:52
Leah Pederson – http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2015/07/10/disgraceful-quackery-from-bioharmonic-technologies-and-shame-on-the-autism-society/
2 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 22:54
Ashley Protagonist Holmes – “felt as if” wow.
Causing people seizures is harm, demonstrable harm, you pretentious fraud. All you had to do was have headphones available for those who gave informed consent to subject themselves to a “treatment” you know is dangerous to a large percentage of attendees at the conference. This is the most hideously negligent thing I have seen in a while, and the fact that you think nobody will care because you did it to an autistic person is all the evidence anyone should need of your intentions for your “patients.”
24 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 23:33
Ashley Protagonist Holmes – Well, if their approach here is any indication, they don’t need you to be fooled by it. They don’t need you to be interested in their “treatment.” They don’t even need you to consent to it.
9 likes – Friday, 10 July 2015 at 23:48
Ashley Protagonist Holmes – Yeah but experimenting on disabled people without their consent is . . . well, isn’t it pretty par for the course for abled quacks? That’s what they’ve done here. They want to believe that they’re different, that because they have spun their chakras at right right speed to purify their intentional thoughtwaves it means nothing they do can be wrong. So now they’re just one more pack of pseudoscientists experimenting on unconsenting disabled people for … well, they always think they’ve got good reasons. This type of person always thinks they’re doing the right thing and y’know, it’s always the same people they sacrifice.
I’m sure they haven’t even considered that/ I’m sure they’re too busy purifying their bowel movements with thoughtform song to even briefly entertain the hypothesis that they’re treating disabled people like expendable subsapient lab subjects.
So, BT, just in case you’re reading these comments? You’re welcome. Here’s a hypothesis you CAN confirm with data, no matter how pristine the spirit resonance of your urine is, it doesn’t balance out exploiting disabled people. And you are exploiting disabled people, and you’re counting on everybody around you sharing your assumption that what happens to disabled people doesn’t matter. And you are wrong.
Now go crack your spine and have a good think about what you’ve done.
19 likes – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 00:19
Marnie Simpson – Bravo! It is extraordinary that this person was even at a conference for autistic people. What were the organizers thinking? I know what BT was thinking “$$”
Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 00:57
Steven Olsen – Can you please be a better person?
9 likes – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 00:29
Melissa Fields – The lady who you are complaining about is an Autistic adult who had every right to be at that convention, as this was supposed to be a convention FOR Autistic people. She also has Audiogenic Epilepsy. She has been having seizures ever since she was exposed to your music. To dismiss her is not just wrong and cruel on ALL levels, but you could have killed her!!! That is NOTHING for you to laugh at, or dismiss!!!
8 likes – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 02:39
Kis Brink – Her issue was seizures. You claim to know about sound so that audiogenic seizures can and did happen you should know. Of course she had an issue and if you thought we were mad before your making light of multiple seizures.
You should have been considerate if you have to peddle your quackery and supplied listening stations. Your product looks like a remake of Super learning who probably still have a patent and a handful of terms not usually applied to sound.
The day will come when snake oil salesmen will be banned from conferences but as your description of what went on has moved a lot of us to be a lot angrier. Which hopefully ensures you won’t be able to rebrand yourself enough to stay in business.
Music is special and can have specific positive effects in some. Oddly you don’t list the thing which is unique about it as the same thing that makes it help some makes it dangerous. You put people at risk at that conference and one is still paying the neurological price. Preying on parents is bad enough but not understanding the harm you can do with your product is irresponsible. Forget anything you may have thought you knew about autism and empathy because hurt one of us and you hurt all of us. You can shrug that off but you may want to ask Autism Speaks how many corporate sponsors they lost in the last year and a half. Ensuring you don’t get to put people at risk will be much easier as they are happy to waste millions on lawyers.
You are a dangerous person.
9 likes – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 03:10
Cameron Brown – It was a seizure trigger and you know it, because said woman told you.
ah well, I suppose lawsuits talk.
9 likes – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 03:18
Sarah Gower – What a wanker. I’ve had sound induced seizures twice and witnessed one occur in a classmate with no seizure history. That shit is no joke.
5 likes – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 05:45
Huttyogány Iszonytató – I am listening to the ‘Autism’ sample for about a half minute. Many of my muscles are twitching more and more violently. I have nausea. I am close to get a seizure, so I turn it off.
I regularly listen to “binaural music”, some have moving-colour changing visuals too, and I do not have this problem, on the contrary, I get relaxed and I feel refreshed afterwards – or I can sleep better, depending on the kind of the track. About one minutes ago, I turned off your ‘Autism’ track, started to listen to one of my favourite tracks, still am twitching.
Happy now, you sound sadist?
4 likes – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 07:07
Huttyogány Iszonytató – Ah and this is a simple overtriggering of my autistic nervous system. If I had epilepsy, I would not dare to experiment with it that long.
Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 07:09
Chris Starfire – Thank you for checking it out and I hope you recover quickly.
I’m a huge fan of binaural beats and use them often. I’ve never had any negative response to them.
I’m Autistic and have “seizure like episodes” (to quote a doctor in the 90s) and I will definitely NOT be trying any of the bioharm stuff!
Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 13:25
Elyse Garett – After reading all the comments I have to weigh in. You screwed up, you have a chiropractor license. I hope the person who had the seizures is pulling your license and calling you out on your bull shit. If that person is reading this and needs any help, please please contact me. My mom does medical malpractice, and you CLEARLY have a case. I would also file a police report for intentional harm. And THEN you can SUE his ass. If he would actually admit he was wrong and help pay for medical bills, I would say just move on, but since he is being an ass hole sue him. You are entitled for him to pay for your medical bills and any damage caused by this. So any missed work, bill him for, any child care you are now paying for bill him, all gas required to get to appointments, guess what, bill him. Oh and your time, you can bill him for that, too. I say screw his ass! I am going to go look up his license right now and I can post it for everyone else and then we can all make formal complaints against his ass. You do not mess with seizures! You wanna endanger other lives fine, then it’s time to have your license pulled! and EVERY complaint against you can show up, so haha joke is on you! Too bad people actually know the law that is reading this.
4 likes – Saturday, 11 July 2015 at 09:54
Unstrange Mind 