This week, I have interviewed Amanda Seigler, who is the third of the trio of mothers who fight the MMS bleach cult, along with Melissa Eaton and Emma Dalmayne. These are her words.
Neurodiversity News: Tell me about yourself and what you do.
Amanda Seigler: I am a Hard of Hearing autistic who is married and has six children. Three of these children are autistic, but all are neurodivergent. Three of these children are also my husband’s half-siblings that we are raising. I am from south Florida. Our family uses both English and American Sign Language to communicate.
I work with other advocates worldwide, especially Emma Dalymane and Melissa Eaton, to fight MMS abuse and other fake cures that torture autistic children and vulnerable adults. I have been involved with this fight since 2014.
NN: What’s your experience fighting the bleach cult been like?
AS: It has been interesting. I pose as one of them online to gain information so I can report the parents who are poisoning their children to social services. It does get frustrating because not a lot is done. There is sometimes no investigation, the people on the other side of the phone call hang up on you and tell you that you are pranking them when this is in fact a real thing. There only seems to be an investigation when the side effects are dire. When we contact different companies that are selling the books that are guides on how to use MMS and the chlorine dioxide itself, they are resistant. They seem to be more worried about the money they would be missing than protecting people from this dangerous substance.
Seeing them finally being prosecuted in federal courts leave me with mixed feelings. I am very happy that they are finally being brought to justice. It took non-disabled people to be affected in order for the government to do anything. This was because they were promoting it as a prevention and a cure for COVID-19.
NN: How has your media reach impacted audiences?
AS: People seemed to be unaware of this poison before we went on the media. This makes people more aware of this problem. We have NBC News to thank for this important issue being in the media. When I went on Dr. Oz, we reached the audience that we needed to reach. Dr. Oz’s audience are more likely to try things like MMS and other “quick fixes.” His audience was horrified, and I would like to think I stopped some people from trying this dangerous substance. I do like the fact that he shows what one drop does to one pair of jeans.
NN: Who are your greatest inspirations?
AS: My greatest inspirations are Emma Dalmayne and Melissa Eaton. If it weren’t for Emma, I would not be a part of this and I do think the three of us working together, we each bring something to the table to make this fight go as far as it has. Melissa is so organized and driven, I wish to be more like her. We all work in our own way. Emma was the person who inspired me to start my own nonprofit.
NN: What do you hope other activists/advocates could learn from you?
AS: Anyone can make a difference. Whether what you do is big or small, you are making an impact. You may not see it now, but you will.
NN: What are your greatest goals for the future?
AS: My greatest goal is to have the bill my husband wrote be passed in congress. We call it the “Ban Toxic Cures Act.” It needs to be in the law books that all these different quack treatments are illegal.
I hope that our fight is over, so we no longer have to do it. I hope for the day where we never have to say again “don’t bleach your kids.”
Links:
https://www.fierceautisticsandallies.org/