In the White House yesterday Trump’s “big announcement” delivered no greater scientific rigour than the off-the-cuff remarks over the weekend. But the baseless claim that taking Tylenol (sold as paracetamol in the UK) during pregnancy is linked to autism in newborns has just grown legs.
In a joint statement on Monday, the leading UK autism groups Ambitious About Autism, Autism Alliance, Autistica and the National Autistic Society declared the “evidence” Kennedy and Trump are citing has emerged from “poorly conducted studies” and that “these claims are not only stigmatising, but they are a distraction and act as an impediment to progress”. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines are also clear that “paracetamol is the first choice of painkiller if you’re pregnant”.
Many of us have lived through the autism and MMR years, when Dr Andrew Wakefield’s 1998 study reported MMR vaccines were responsible for autism. The paper was debunked and withdrawn, but the seed had already been sown, and with profound consequences.
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For parents of children with autism, this Tylenol theory feels like yet another stick to beat us with, from the entirely discredited Refrigerator Mothers narrative of the 1940s – which theorised that children could develop autism because of a lack of love from their parents – to the present day, we always seem to be in the line of fire. Back then it was our cold attitude toward our babies that apparently caused autism; now it’s the pain medication we take during pregnancy.
The National Autistic Society’s website clearly states: “Autism is not a disease or an epidemic.” Autistic is something we are, not something we have contracted. My children are fabulously autistic; autism is their neurotype. Rising figures in diagnosis are as a result of access to, and better standards of assessments.
Whatever the next bright idea, the next damning opinion, the next theory projected onto us is, one thing is for sure: autistic people have always been here, and we’re here to stay.
Carrie Grant is an author, vocal coach, TV presenter and campaigner
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