Abubakar Tariq Nadama, 5, died in a doctor's office after receiving the treatment that some people believe may cure the neurological and developmental disorder, officials say.
Barr said the staff at Dr. Roy E. Kerry's office performed CPR on the boy. He died at the hospital, The Associated Press reports.
State police are investigating the cause of death.
Chelation therapy involves an intravenous injection of a synthetic amino acid - ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid - that latches onto heavy metals and leaves the body through urine. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the treatment only for acute heavy-metal poisoning, confirmed by blood tests.
Some people believe chelation therapy can help autistic children, and more parents have been seeking the treatment. Critics call the treatment risky and say there isn't enough evidence to link autism to mercury or lead toxicity.
The boy's mother, Marwa Nadama, said she didn't blame the therapy, but was waiting for test results.
Howard Carpenter, the executive director of the Advisory Board on Autism-Related Disorders said it was just a matter of time before there would be a death linked to the therapy.
"Parents of children with autism are desperate. Some are willing to try anything," Carpenter says.
