'We've regressed so horribly': Autism groups respond to Trump administration's Tylenol claims
Source: USA Today
Sept. 22, 2025, 7:53 p.m. ET
The Trump administration announced on Monday, Sept. 22, that it had found the "answer to autism" - a claim experts, advocacy groups and the autism community are calling dangerous and regressive.
Trump announced plans to reveal the supposed cause of autism spectrum disorder during a Sept. 21 memorial rally for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, telling memorial-goers, "I think youre going to find it to be amazing."
In a press conference, Trump, alongside Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) RFK Jr. and other officials, claimed that Tylenol use during pregnancy could contribute to the development of autism in children, a contrast to current medical guidelines that say acetaminophen, the generic form of Tylenol, is safe to use.
The Trump administration has made repeated claims about its plans to find the "cause" for autism, despite decades of medical and scientific consensus indicating that there is no singular source, including medication, that can be attributed to the condition, and that it is likely the result of multiple contributing factors like genetics. Kennedy has argued, without evidence, that the country has a "preventable" "autism epidemic" fueled by "environmental toxins."
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2025/09/22/autism-groups-community-respond-trump-rfk-autism-tylenol/86291656007/
Yet his "boss" is essentially dismantling the very agency that regulates "environmental toxins" and who has illegally rescinded funding that was set aside to study and attempt to clean up those "environmental toxins".

If anything, this whole administration is filled with "environmental toxins" posing as people.

johnnyfins
(2,944 posts)According to RFK jr. Now it's tylenol? What's next? Witchcraft? Being non-christian?
Bernardo de La Paz
(58,677 posts)/s
hlthe2b
(111,423 posts)their say:
From the article:
--snip--
The oversimplification of a complex developmental difference that exists on a spectrum of many different abilities and experiences is dehumanizing at best and dangerous at its worst, autism experts, advocacy groups and members of the community told USA TODAY.
"The claim that Tylenol causes autism has been shown to be false by actual scientific research ... Autism is a very complex neurodevelopmental condition," said Dr. Sara Rodrigues, Executive Director of Balanced Learning Center, a nonprofit providing services, coaching, advocacy and therapy for autistic and neurodivergent people. "Genetics are known to play a very large role and environmental factors are believed to interact with genetic predispositions. Omitting that complexity misleads policy, funding, and medical care."
"The announcement is an incorrect reading of data," said Noor Pervez, Community Engagement Manager at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN). "The way that RFK Jr. speaks about autism is actively dehumanizing, and it promotes stigma against autistic people."
twodogsbarking
(15,926 posts)Trump logic.
riversedge
(77,903 posts)Meadowoak
(6,582 posts)twodogsbarking
(15,926 posts)Wonder Why
(6,210 posts)
RobinA
(10,424 posts)beat. I have genuine, in the original easy-open bottle, pre-cyanide Tylenol. The bottle I carried in my purse when that scandal hit. The one I looked at to check after word got out that cyanide in a capsule would deteriorate pretty fast and make contamination obvious. I only take sealed bids.
travelingthrulife
(3,321 posts)that allow more cases to be identified.
twodogsbarking
(15,926 posts)karynnj
(60,557 posts)twodogsbarking
(15,926 posts)riversedge
(77,903 posts)Spot on!!
TheRickles
(2,958 posts)This is from a top psychiatry journal: JAMA Psychiatry: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31664451/
Conclusions and relevance: Cord biomarkers of fetal exposure to acetaminophen were associated with significantly increased risk of childhood ADHD and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in a dose-response fashion. Our findings support previous studies regarding the association between prenatal and perinatal acetaminophen exposure and childhood neurodevelopmental risk and warrant additional investigations.
BumRushDaShow
(160,555 posts)is the cause/effect "assumptions" that ignore what might be underlying issues that are triggering someone to take one of the NSAID to resolve.
I.e., there may be other medical conditions and/or complications in play that are causing symptoms like headache, fatigue, inflammation, swelling, etc., that might be indicative of or a cause of stressors to the fetus, regardless of whether the mother is being medicated with NSAIDs to temporarily relieve the discomfort, or not.
If there was such a link, then you'd probably have 90% of the population diagnosed with some neurological condition like ADHD or ASD.
wcollar
(210 posts)From the article; Our findings support previous studies regarding the association between prenatal and perinatal acetaminophen exposure and childhood neurodevelopmental risk and warrant additional investigations.
Key word association.
A classic example is that there is a strong correlation between ice cream consumption and shark attacks. No one claims eating ice cream triggers shark attacks. Instead, we know that in the summer we eat more ice cream and swim on the ocean.
Ellipsis
(9,372 posts)Conclusions and Relevance Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was not associated with childrens risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analysis. This suggests that associations observed in other models may have been attributable to familial confounding.
Design, Setting, and Participants This nationwide cohort study with sibling control analysis included a population-based sample of 2,480,797 children born in 1995 to 2019 in Sweden, with follow-up through December 31, 2021.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2817406
TheRickles
(2,958 posts)karynnj
(60,557 posts)Correlation is not causation, especially if it is easy to speculate that there might be a higher correlation between a mother having a high fever and problems.
obamanut2012
(28,839 posts)bucolic_frolic
(52,455 posts)Look! We've found the culprit!!! It wasn't pollution, smoke, mercury, chemicals, bio-engineering ... it was Tylenol!! Presto! Problem solved!
And there sure was suspicion that mercury was a cause about 20 years ago. Don't know where that research pursuit went.
travelingthrulife
(3,321 posts)I am wondering how much the constant assault of media (lights, noise, etc) as you are developing affects a kid. It's one of many exposures we never had prior to 20th century.
Clouds Passing
(5,853 posts)
area51
(12,443 posts)
Initech
(106,374 posts)Fuck the wellness industry. The worst thing Oprah ever did was give that bullshit a platform. And now we're stuck with these assholes in charge of public health.