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Son of autism doctor charged with practicing without a license

Maryland Board of Physicians says David Geier worked with his father in treating autism patients
By Meredith Cohn, The Baltimore Sun

The Maryland panel that oversees doctors in the state has charged a man with practicing medicine without a license just weeks after his father's license was suspended for putting autistic children at risk.The Maryland Board of Physicians says David Geier worked with his father, Dr. Mark Geier, at the Rockville and Owings Mills offices of Genetic Consultants of Maryland, where they used a drug therapy that autism experts say is based on junk science.

The pair has built a national following among parents who believe autism is linked to the mercury in vaccines, a theory discredited by mainstream medicine. They developed a treatment using Lupron, a testosterone suppressant approved for prostate cancer and ovarian fibroids, as well as in chemically castrating sex offenders.In children, it's used for "precocious puberty," which the board said Mark Geier over-diagnosed in autistic children.J. Steven Wise, a lawyer for the Geiers, said Thursday that David Geier "categorically denies the charges." Mark Geier has already appealed his suspension.Another attorney for the pair has said that they are being targeted for their outspoken views and have not hurt any children. Joseph A. Schwartz III said the treatment may be considered "a crazy therapy but it works" on especially difficult patients. The lawyers produced affidavits in support of Mark Geier and Lupron therapy from parents of five children.The lawyers would not address the specifics of the charges Thursday but have said David Geier works in an "administrative" capacity in the offices. He has earned a bachelor's degree and taken some graduate-level classes.They also have said in one case, David Geier touched a patient only when he was needed to subdue the boy, who was aggressive.That child's mother, however, complained to the board in 2008 that David Geier had diagnosed her then-10-year-old son, used an ultrasound wand on him as he walked around the room and ordered so many tests that the lab questioned how much blood they would have to draw. The mother, who was not identified in board's report, also said she assumed David Geier was a physician.