Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A paid-for Instagram ad for Uzman Psikolog Ozgur Aykut, a psychologist, seen on 18 November 2025. The ad included a video of a woman that stated, “Me and my husband have been bringing our little boy Billy to Medilife Clinic now for a few months, he had a Brain Mapping and he’s been having TMS treatment. Since having this treatment, he used to say very little words and now he’ll say full sentences. His teachers have mentioned to me his eye contact, his sentences, he’s doing so well. Billy didn’t used to really look or respond to his name and now he does […]”. The caption stated, “QEEG: Brain scanning and mapping is the determination of active and passive parts of the brain. Qeeg provides scientific and real data that shows us which protocol we should apply in which part of the brain. TMS: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is used as a noninvasive [sic] method that stimulates neurons in the brain. Rapidly changing magnetic field applications restore and normalize [sic] communication in neuronal pathways, thus streamlining children’s perception and communication skills with the environment gradually reaching a satisfactory level.” Further text included the hashtags “#Autism”, “#learningdifficulties” and “#learningdisabilities”.
Issue
The National Autistic Society challenged whether:
- the claims that Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) could treat or alleviate the traits of autism were misleading and could be substantiated; and
- the ad discouraged essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought.
Response
1. & 2. Medilife Clinic Enfield said that the video showed a mother explaining how the clinic had helped her son’s speech delay and learning difficulties. They stated that the mother did not mention autism in the video, but that they had used hashtags including “#Autism”, because that is what other therapy centres did. They said that autism was a wide spectrum, and some of the issues included speech delay and learning difficulties.
Assessment
1.Upheld
The ad for Medilife Clinic Enfield included information on two treatments: QEEG and TMS. The ASA understood that QEEG treatment involved scanning and mapping the brain to determine which parts were active and which were passive, and that TMS was a method which stimulated neurons in the brain. The ad featured a mother who said that her son’s speech, eye contact and response to his name had improved after having the brain mapping and treatment. We understood from the NHS page on ‘Signs of autism in children’ that those traits could be indicators of autism. We also noted that the ad included the hashtags “#Autism”, “#learningdifficulties” and “#learningdisabilities”. We considered that consumers would understand the ad to mean that QEEG and TMS treatments could treat the traits of autism. We therefore expected to see robust scientific evidence that QEEG and TMS treatments were successful treatments for the traits of autism. Testimonials alone were not sufficient to substantiate the claims.
Because we had not seen any robust scientific evidence to support the claim that QEEG and TMS treatments could treat the traits of autism, we concluded that the ad was misleading.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading Advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 12.1 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
2.Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketers must not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought. For example, they must not offer specific advice, diagnosis or treatment for such conditions unless that advice, diagnosis or treatment was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional.
As referenced in point 1, we considered consumers would understand the ad to mean that QEEG and TMS could treat some of the traits of autism. We considered that autism was a condition for which medical supervision should be sought, and therefore advice, diagnosis or treatment should be conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional.
Because Medilife Clinic Enfield had not supplied evidence that showed that the treatment was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional, we concluded that the ad discouraged essential treatment for a condition for which medical supervision should be sought, and therefore breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.2 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Medilife Clinic Enfield not to state or imply that QEEG and TMS could treat or alleviate the traits of autism unless they held robust evidence to substantiate the claim. We also told them to ensure their future ads did not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought.
