Identified through the ASA’s detection AI tool, three ads targeted the parents of Autistic children, making claims such as “fewer meltdowns,” and two targeted individuals with ADHD, claiming “improved memory and cognitive performance.”
Misleading ‘autism recovery’ supplement claims
Three brands advertised to parents of children with autism, a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference that affects how people’s brains work, influencing communication, social interaction and behavior.
Customized Autism Treatment (C.A.T.) ran a paid Google ad promoting its nutrition clinic and advertising “Autism Recovery Supplements”. The ad claimed that the company could help parents “treat and manage” their child’s autism and explicitly promoted supplements as part of “autism recovery”.
EllaOla Brands Inc ran a paid Facebook ad through the account Pure Nutrition Mom to promote one of its supplements. The ad claimed that the supplement led to “fewer meltdowns”, “more energy and alertness”, and helped children try new foods. It described the product as “life-changing for sensory-sensitive kids” and suggested that mothers of children with autism favored the supplement.
Onecare Wellness Pte Ltd also ran a paid Facebook ad promoting a supplement claimed to “support children with autism”. The ad stated that the product improved mood stability and cognitive function, promised a calmer and more balanced life and claimed to reduce “meltdowns and tantrums” and “ease the challenges of autism”.
According to the ASA, these claims positioned the supplements as capable of preventing, treating or curing traits of autism and made medicinal and health claims that were not authorized by the MHRA or permitted on the GB (NHC) Register.
Unauthorized ADHD supplement claims in targeted ads
A further two brands advertised to individuals with ADHD, a neurodevelopmental condition that is often characterized by persistent patterns of inattention such as difficulty focusing, organizing, remembering and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity.
Healthbio Ltd ran a paid Facebook ad asserting that its supplement eliminated brain fog, low energy and low drive and described the product as leading to an enhanced mental and physical state. The ad included a testimonial claiming benefits for ADHD-related memory issues and stated that one ingredient could delay skin aging by increasing cell longevity.
The ASA ruled that the supplement was framed as capable of treating or alleviating traits of ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions. The advertiser also used specific and reworded health claims that were not authorized on the GB (NHC) Register and made medicinal claims without approval from the MHRA.
Get Dopa Ltd also published an ad on Facebook, promoting its supplement as “the perfect gift for anyone with ADHD” on Facebook, noting that the product was designed to support focus, mental clarity, mood, energy, memory and cognitive performance, specifically referencing neurodivergent individuals.
Matt Buff, founder of Get Dopa, said the ad was a one off which included a customer review that referenced ADHD.
Buff told NI in response to the ruling: “As soon as concerns were raised, we withdrew the advert and strengthened our internal processes. We have since updated how third-party customer reviews are moderated before being used in any advertising, and we have enhanced our compliance checks to ensure full alignment with ASA and MHRA guidance.
“We are a small, founder-led brand and we take our responsibilities seriously. We welcome clear guidance and remain committed to learning, improving, and ensuring that all of our communications are fully compliant.”
Regulator warns misleading supplement claims may be treated as illegal medicinal marketing
Katia Merten-Lentz, a food law expert and partner at Food Law Science and Partners, told NutraIngredients that regulators carefully assure that food business operators do not cross the line by officially promoting a food supplement bearing a health claim that corresponds to a drug.
When the line between the two product categories is unclear, regulators apply the more cautious classification and treat the product as a drug, she explained. Because the approval process for drugs is far more rigorous than for food supplements, this approach provides greater protection for consumer health.
However, in these cases, “brands used non-authorized health claims”, she said, noting that any claim to relieve symptoms, cure, remedy or heal a specific condition counts as a medicinal claim and is considered an aggravating factor.
As a result, these products either breach the CAP Code if marketed as food supplements with unauthorized health claims or they are illegal if treated as medicinal products because they were placed on the market without approval from the MHRA or EMA.
However, she added: “It is not only about claims that are not compliant: In this case, these brands deliberately targeted vulnerable neurodivergent populations.”
Unevidenced supplement claims harm Autistic and ADHD communities
Dr. Catriona Stewart OBE, a researcher and diagnostic assessor in autism and ADHD, told NI that from both a clinical and ethical standpoint, claims like those made can be especially problematic when aimed at Autistic children or people with ADHD, even if framed as support.
“Claims such as these are unevidenced,” she said. “They exploit the many, often inaccurate and unhelpful, deficit/disorder narratives around autism and ADHD without a true understanding of the core characteristics of these neurodevelopmental differences.
“They are often directed at parents, who are not necessarily being given the right tools to support their children—or themselves, when adults—and so are vulnerable to being sold.‘’
There is also the concern that claims to reduce or eliminate neurodivergent traits can be harmful in terms of stigma, self-identity and physical wellness, Stewart explained.
“Constantly being told that who they are as a human being requires to be ‘fixed’, or eliminated or made more normal, has enormously detrimental impacts on Autistic and ADHD individuals, their self-identity and self-esteem,” she said.
“Trying hard to fit in is exhausting, demoralizing and unsustainable; many common co-occurring conditions—IBS, hypertension, connective tissue disorders and chronic pain, can feasibly be explained by the impact of long-term, chronic stress and anxiety, of trying to cope in a less than supportive world, rather than anything intrinsic to the autism or ADHD.”
Marketing for brands selling supplements or wellness products positioned to neurodivergent people or their families should involve products that are truly grounded in credible evidence and communicating about them in ways that reflect the lived experiences of neurominority individuals, Stewart said.
“An example would be things that help to calm a stressed GIT, IBS-type symptoms, evidenced products with sound provenance, often natural products,” she said. “Another example would be quality essential fatty acids, as there has been a lot of research into these over the years. There is a reason that fish used to be called ‘brain food’—but that doesn’t mean fish oils ‘cure’ autism or ADHD, just potentially help to optimize brain development, whichever kind of brain it is.”
NutraIngredients reached out to all brands mentioned for comment, but did not receive a response from any other than Get Dopa Ltd prior to publication.
