Utah autism experts discuss Trump’s Tylenol claims, importance of consulting with your physician

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — After President Trump claimed today that Tylenol use during pregnancy causes autism, local autism experts spoke to ABC4 about the science and the importance of consulting your healthcare providers.

During a press conference at the White House Monday, Trump said that women should not take acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol) during their pregnancy, suggesting that it can cause autism.

Amanda Bakian, Associate Professory of Psychiatry at the University of Utah told ABC4 that learning the cause of autism is much more complicated than a single cause.

“Given how heterogeneous the presentation of autism is, that it can look so different from one person to another, really, we understand that the causality of autism, what causes autism, there’s probably many, many, many, many different trajectories to get to that presentation of autism that we observe,” Bakian said.

She also said that autism is a largely heritable condition, meaning that it runs in families. “We know that genetic risk factors play a big role in autism, because of how it clusters in families, the environment also is part of the causal pathway as well, interacts with whatever genetic vulnerability exists to likely result in autism.”

Potential links between Tylenol or acetaminophen and autism has been studied extensively, and Bakian said that the findings of that research has been very mixed. “Some studies suggesting a relationship that is a risk factor for autism, other ones saying there is no relationship, and so I think it’s really still inconclusive.”

Bakian added that the studies do not test for causality, meaning that they don’t test if acetaminophen use during pregnancy causes autism. “They don’t have the study design that allows for the causal relationship to be established as well,” she said.

Tricia Nelson, the executive director and founder of Utah Autism Academy, told ABC4 that she was concerned by the way Trump discussed autism during the press conference today and that there is a stigma around autism.

“It’s created by false narratives about what we need to do about autism, and some of the language that was discussed in the press conference today was concerning for me. The idea of eradicating autism or getting rid of a problem is very concerning for me because my life has been so enriched by the people that I’ve known with autism, and I don’t think autistic people are a problem to be solved,” Nelson said.

Nelson began Utah Autism Academy because she needed services for her son, who is “profoundly autistic” and nonverbal. She described her organization as running a day treatment, applied behavior analysis clinic and said that they treat people from diagnosis through adulthood. They currently serve around 60 students in intensive care in their clinic in Orem.

“I think we have to be very cautious about the information that we take in and make sure that we’re consulting with our individual physicians and making sure that we are making informed decisions for our own experiences for our children with autism and those in the community with autism,” Nelson said. She also said that autism can be treated differently for different people, and that talking about eliminating autism is concerning.

“There’s others on the spectrum who are contributing in such important ways that if we were to take away the very things that allow them to contribute, it would be very detrimental to society,” she said. She acknowledged that people can have challenges with their autism, like self-injuring behaviors, but those problems need to be addressed individually, not as a population that needs to be eradicated.

Bakian also stressed that if parents have any questions about their children, or if pregnant women are concerned about their pregnancy, they should speak with their healthcare providers. “They are staying on top of what’s the most current known information. They’re there to guide, they’re there to serve as those resources, so please engage and get the best information you can from them,” she said.

About diagnosing autism

Bakian explained that generally, it is believed that an autistic individual is born with autism, and that it first presents in early childhood. Autism is a disorder that affects social functioning, and it continues to impact people throughout their lifespans.

“Two years of age is where we can say that a reliable autism diagnosis can be made, but then after that point then it really can be made at any point beyond to years of age,” she explained. She stated that it is a goal for healthcare providers to reduce the age at which an autistic child is diagnosed with autism, because then that child can access services that are specific to autism earlier in life.

Early symptoms of autism are related to development, including development of motor skills. “The ability to turn, to roll over at the appropriate age, crawl, be able to pull oneself up to stand, walk, those types of gross motor skills,” Bakian said. “A delay is not unusual in autism.”

According to Bakian, other delays to look out for are delays in language development, expression development, eye contact, and social smiles. The most important thing is for parents to keep track of when it comes to autism or other developmental delays is their children’s milestones.

“There are a lot of resources out there for parents for them to become familiar with what these developmental milestones are and to help them track them themselves,” Bakian said. “That’s why it’s really important for parents to bring their children in for their wellness check-ins that are done frequently when they’re little, when their little ones are little.”