"There is not a whole lot of what mainstream does basically. Most of it is behavioral treatments and basic therapies and speech therapies," said Dr. Charles Rudolph. "These are just sratching the surface. That is just the tip of the iceberg. They are trying to work with the end result of the problem and not trying to get to the cause of the problem."

The search for an alternative to treat autism. Autism is a disorder characterized by a lack of social interaction and communication, along with repetitive behaviors. This week we're covering treatments and therapies for autism. Some say autism is caused by mercury and other toxins in vaccines. Those who believe this favor Chelation as a treatment to remove heavy metals from the body.

Some families say they are seeing great results with this treatment. Kansas City has a clinic where Chelation treatment is common.

"We are the most published clinic in the world on Chelation. We have written over 30 papers on it," Rudolph said.

While most of the McDonagh Medical Center patients are adults, Dr. Charles Rudolph does have some young patients with autism.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you mercury causes autism. The question is depending on their genetic predisposition to handle mercury," said Rudolph. "It might be a ten percent or it might be a 50 percent player."

That player causes enough concern that some people seek treatments beyond what mainstream medicine offers for autism.

"If the patient does have autism, and he has a defective ability to remove heavy metals from the brain then we need to treat him to get the heavy metals down," explained Rudolph. "Just like if a patient has a problem with kidneys we need to put them on dialysis. That is sort of like Chelation. For that person that can't remove heavy metals from the brain, it sort of acts like dialysis for the brain."

Chelation is used in many forms to help rid the body of heavy metals. There are pills, lotions, and suanas.

"Traditional medicine doesn't appreciate this. These things are fixed in stone, they are irreversible. I guess we didn't read that book irreversible because we seen to reverse a lot of these things," said Rudolph.

But Dr. Rudolph says not every person with autism needs Chelation.

"I try not to have tunnel vision I look at all these things. I look at their metabolism. If they have mercury problems I will treat it. If they don't I won't."

What makes chelation so controversial in the autism community is it supports the idea autism is caused by toxins, meaning autism can be prevented. Skeptics doubt that, and point out the FDA has not approved chelation to treat autism.

"You think that they are basically on the side of the consumer and not the drug company, but a little known fact is that 75 percent of the people that are head of the FDA retired as vice presidents for drug companies," said Rudolph. "Well, that is knowing where your bread is buttered, as they say in the south."

Chelation made headlines two years ago when a boy with autism in Pennsylvania died during a treatment.

"They used a different chelator and they used it too fast. They didn't use what we normally use and they gave it at too fast a rate," said Rudolph.

Insurance doesn't cover Chelation, so all of Dr. Rudolph's patients pay out of pocket. A typical treatment costs $108.

"Patients can't get reimbursed because they are doing something they want to do and it is not something the big insurance company wants to do then that's a problem. It's a crime. I am sorry, but it is a crime," said Rudolph.

Rudolph is not an autism expert. But his clinic belongs in this series as a place autism patients go to seek alternative treatment. In our next installment of the series we will look at typical therapies and what local resources we have in Columbia to combat autism.

If you've missed any part of our series you can always explore the links in this story. There you'll also find extended interviews with Dr. Rudolph, a behind the scene look at the trip to Kansas City, and a link to the Combating Autism From Within blog.