No, paracetamol does not cause autism

When I was first diagnosed with autism at the age of 17, it was a relief. After years of questioning what was ‘wrong’ with me, I finally had some answers. It was the confirmation that something had been different all along – and that it wasn’t something I needed to fix.

I spent my life feeling like there was something I was missing  – like there was a ‘How to be Human’ manual that everyone else just seemed to ‘get’,  but mine got lost in the post. My diagnosis gave me a better understanding of myself and how to live with my autism, rather than constantly trying to work against it.

Finding understanding through my autism diagnosis

My autism diagnosis was a positive moment for me, but I am continually frustrated with the narratives that still surround autism in our world today. I know that we have made significant progress, but we clearly still have a long way to go. I am tired of the misleading information and inaccurate representations of autism that I see every day.

The long history of misinformation about autism

Misinformation about autism started well before now, with the most prevalent example from recent times being that “vaccines cause autism”. Any link between vaccines and autism has been disproven time and time again, yet the narrative stays, and some people still refuse to vaccinate their children out of fear of autism.

False claims about paracetamol and autism

Now we have Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK), whose dangerous misinformation and offensive comments prompted me to write this piece. Their most recent claims that Tylenol (also known as acetaminophen or paracetamol in Ireland) taken during pregnancy increases the chance that an autistic child will be born. These claims are ridiculous and not supported by scientific evidence or research, at best, and life-threatening at worst.

The US administration’s rhetoric is creating a hostile, fear-filled environment, leaving some parents too afraid to take paracetamol while pregnant or give it to their children. Trump’s advice to pregnant women to “fight like hell not to take it” and to simply “tough it out” is reckless. The FDA (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) have confirmed that paracetamol is one of the few pain-relievers considered to be safe to take during pregnancy.

RFK has even gone a step further and claimed that circumcision increases the risk of autism because babies are sometimes given paracetamol after the procedure.  He cites ‘overwhelming evidence’ consisting of two studies, one published in 2013 and the other published in 2015, that have not been peer reviewed or published in a scientific journal. Researchers have heavily criticised the studies since their publication for significant limitations and flaws in their methodology and findings.

How misinformation harms autistic people

Trump and Kennedy have managed to spread yet more misinformation around autism,  creating a completely fear-based narrative while blaming mothers for this ‘horror show’. It’s another instalment in our long history of trying to blame mothers for their children’s autism with the discredited ‘refrigerator mother’ theory. I, like every other autistic person, have had enough.

They speak of autism as an “epidemic”. One that is caused by an “environmental toxin” that causes children to “regress”. I still think of Kennedy’s speech in April, which would be laughable if it weren’t so harmful. He stated that “Autism destroys families” and that it is an ”individual tragedy as well”.

He listed all the things that autistic people will supposedly never do: pay taxes, hold a job, play baseball, write a poem or go on a date. Just when you think it can’t get worse, he also claimed that “many of them [autistic people] will never use a toilet unassisted”.

Kennedy’s speech was not only highly offensive; it was also completely false.

The fact is that everyone who is Autistic experiences life differently.  Autistic people are diverse with varying levels of support needs and different areas of capability. And believe it or not, neurotypical people have varying levels of support needs, too. It’s part of being human. Autistic people’s support needs just might look a bit different, or they may have more, and there is nothing wrong with that. Support needs do not determine a person’s worth.

Autism is not a tragedy

Many autistic people can do many (if not all) of the things on RFK’s list.  The idea that we are inherently incapable is insulting and damaging.

Many autistic people are unemployed –  mainly due to inaccessible work environments, lack of accommodations and even discriminatory hiring practices.  Autism is not an intellectual disability or a mental health condition; it’s a neurotype. And the approximately 33% of autistic people who do have an intellectual disability are not any less valuable as people because of that.

I can tell you that as an autistic person, I pay my taxes. I currently hold a job and have also held a previous one. I’ve written many poems, and I have always loved literature. I’ve definitely been on a date (not necessarily a successful one, but that wasn’t on RFK’s list). I most certainly use the toilet unassisted, although I’m not quite sure what relevance that has.

Now I must admit that I’ve never played baseball, but I think that’s more due to a complete lack of interest and probably the necessary hand-eye coordination than autism. I’m also not sure how your value as a person is determined by your ability to work, pay taxes, go on dates or write poems. Someone’s ability to do these things is certainly not how I would define their worth.

My sister is autistic as well, and she hasn’t done most of the things on RFK’s list. But that is because she is 16 and also has other disabilities. Even so, she is happy and lives a full life. She is talented at acting, dancing and music. She’s impressively good at maths and is one of the friendliest, funniest people you will ever meet. What I’m trying to say is that autism didn’t “destroy” my family, RFK. It made it.

The consequences of misinformation

When people in positions of power spread misinformation about autism, autistic people pay the price. We already live in a world that cannot understand us. The constant fearmongering around autism leads frightened families to pursue fraudulent ‘cures’ and discourages more people from seeking a diagnosis.

Countless girls already go undiagnosed due to financial barriers, long waiting lists and a lack of knowledge on how autism can present differently in girls. With more misinformation, even fewer will find that understanding of themselves that comes with a diagnosis. The understanding that they deserve. Nobody should have to go their whole life questioning what is ‘wrong’ with them and why they feel so different to everyone around them.

Autistic voices belong at the centre of the conversation

Too often, non-autistic people debate what autism is while autistic voices are left out of the conversation.

Autistic people should be at the centre of any discourse around autism, but we are not. Instead, our existence is pathologised. We have a ‘disorder’ with ‘symptoms’ that needs to be ‘cured’.

I think it’s time we consider that autism is simply a neurotype, structural and connectivity differences in our brains that don’t need to be fixed but instead accepted. I’m not claiming that autism is a ‘superpower’ because that ignores the very real challenges that come with being autistic. But it is not inherently negative either.

So what do I want?  I want a world that stops treating autism like a disease and autistic people like children. I want a world that knows autism is caused by genetics, not vaccines, paracetamol or bad parenting. A world that recognises that autism cannot be ‘reversed’ and nor should it be. I want a world that doesn’t immediately make assumptions about me when I say I am autistic. I want people to question the information they hear in the media, even when it comes from someone in a position of authority.

What real understanding of autism looks like

Most of all, I want you to listen to autistic people and what we have to say, all of us. This includes people who are non-speaking because non-speaking does not equal non-thinking or non-communicating. I want a world that strives to understand autism, not fear it. A world that puts autistic people at the heart of these conversations.

We don’t need fewer autistic people. We need a better understanding of the ones who already exist.

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