Grandma arrested after allegedly attempting to cure 4-year-old’s autism with nicotine
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - A grandma is facing a child abuse charge after arrest records allege she put nicotine patches on her 4-year-old grandson in an attempt to cure his autism.
Tammy Eddings-Dion, 53, was arrested by El Paso County deputies on charges of child abuse and crimes against an at-risk juvenile.
El Paso County Sheriff's Office arrest records obtained by KRDO13 Investigates reveal the little boy became "lethargic and started vomiting" on April 3. The boy and his mother were transported to Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs by an ambulance. Hospital staff found a nicotine patch on his leg, and the 4-year-old was treated for nicotine poisoning. The mother found another nicotine patch on the boy's back later in the day, after the boy was discharged from the hospital.
In an interview, the boy's mother told detectives that Eddings-Dion sent her a text informing her she had received a 30-day supply of 24-hour release nicotine patches in the mail. Arrest records say the mother responded, asking the grandmother not to use the patches on the 4-year-old boy.
Arrest records say the child has the brain development of a 2-year-old, cannot form complete sentences, and struggles with behavioral episodes.
The mother called the grandmother after the little boy was released from the hospital. According to arrest records, the grandmother apologizes in the recording and says she would never hurt her grandson, and it was not intentional.
In an interview on April 7 with detectives, Eddings-Dion "admitted to buying the nicotine patches approximately one month ago because she had researched that nicotine would help with autism." She told authorities she never opened the patches because the boy's mother asked her not to use them. The grandma said she didn't even know where the patches were inside her house because she put them away and forgot about them, but she knows her grandson wouldn't have been able to reach them. She told detectives the only "sticky" thing the 4-year-old got into that day was band-aids from the first-aid kit.
KRDO13 Investigates reached out to Eddings-Dion's attorney, who declined to comment on Friday.
The Autism Science Foundation (ASF) categorizes nicotine patch treatment as one of several "Biomedical Non-Evidence-Based Treatments."
ASF says, "Proponents of nicotine patch use in individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) believe that the nicotine released into the body from the patch activates and upregulates receptors, and thereby reduces ASD symptoms." However, "use of this treatment is not supported by scientific evidence," and no clinical trials have shown nicotine patches are a safe or effective treatment for autistic spectrum disorders.
