LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Representatives from AutismOne, the United States’ largest parent-run autism conference, announced today with great regret the passing of its Founder and President, Edmund Arranga. Mr. Arranga passed peacefully on Monday, December 6, 2021, in Gilbert, Ariz., surrounded by his friends and family, including his two sons.
As the father of an autistic son, Arranga retired from his position as a senior software engineer at Boeing in 2002 to dedicate his life to finding a cure and treatment for autism and autism spectrum disorders. After leading experts told him that the disorder was genetic and no cure would ever be possible, he met with Bernard S. Rimland, PhD. Like Arranga, Rimland had been told similar theories regarding his own son. However, Rimland reported improvement in his son and other children after implementing a number of treatment strategies from a burgeoning field known as functional medicine.
Intrigued and encouraged by a potential positive outcome, Arranga tried the same methods with his son and became convinced that there were better options available to help children with autism than what were currently in use by mainstream professionals. He founded AutismOne in 2002 with the goal of bringing together experts from the medical community, along with the foremost authorities in autism and behavioral research to provide the latest information and inspire hope among families living with autism and autism spectrum disorders.
"Ed Arranga was a visionary and a revered leader in the autism community,” said James B. Adams, PhD and Autism Researcher, Professor and Chair of the Autism/Asperger’s Research Program at Arizona State University. “His work at AutismOne helped and inspired thousands if not hundreds of thousands of families to live better lives. He is really one of the first to say, ‘these children can get better, live normal lives, and be valuable members of society.’ He will be greatly missed.”
Arranga continued to explore drug therapies, homeopathy, cranial osteopathy, chiropractic, the use of medical marijuana, and any other therapy he found to be safe and beneficial, not just for the children but for the families, as well. When he heard of mothers who had committed suicide under the duress of providing care for an autistic child, Arranga brought in psychologists, counselors, essential oil experts and chefs to help parents find ways to cope. He also developed avenues for parents to network and develop support systems outside the conference.
But his work was not without controversy. He was highly criticized by CNN and other mainstream media for his promotion of medical marijuana in the treatment of autism. However, after scientific studies began reporting positive effects from cannabinoid treatment, many outlets including CNN retracted their statements and actually endorsed the treatment.
In 2012, Arranga met with Dr. Luc Montagnier, Nobel Prize Laureate and co-discoverer of the HIV/AIDS virus at the AutismOne conference, and his eyes were opened to the fact that many symptoms of autism were related to the environment and environmental damage. He recruited Dr. Stephanie Seneff, MIT professor and the leading expert on glyphosate contamination in food to explore this theory further. At Seneff’s urging, he recommended eliminating gluten and other foods containing gluten for children living with autism. At the time, this recommendation was highly controversial, but has since gained traction following the Monsanto Company’s $87 million lawsuit involving glyphosate toxicity.
No matter the controversy or challenge, through the AutismOne conference, Arranga strove to constantly improve the quality of life for the children and families living with autism. From delivering the latest information on science and treatments, to the education, safety, well-being and legal rights of the children and families, he provided hope and a means to recovery from an autism diagnosis. He worked tirelessly to keep the cost of attendance at the conference extremely low for families. Most recently, participants paid just $49 to attend the entire week’s sessions. Arranga and the AutismOne team worked tirelessly to supplement the cost of the conference through solicitation of donations and sponsorships from generous supporters and vendors.
As the preeminent source of information, hope and healing for families struggling with autism, the AutismOne conference is committed to continuing Ed Arranga’s legacy and life’s work and is already planning its 2022 conference. Any supporters wishing to contribute a tax-deductible donation to help fund the event may do so via PayPal at www.HelpAutismOne.com.
About AutismOne
AutismOne is a parent-founded, parent-driven 501(c)3 nonprofit charity organization that exists to help children and their families achieve improvement and recovery from an autism diagnosis; restoring health and skills and enhancing safety and happiness.
