DES MOINES, Iowa – On Monday, President Trump made a controversial announcement that claimed there was a link to acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, with an increased risk of autism in children whose mothers take it during pregnancy.

The FDA commissioner referenced an analysis of 45 studies, which suggests a possible link, but further studies are needed. In contrast, many other large-scale studies find no link.
The maker of Tylenol, medical experts, and researchers say the medication is safe.

Now, local autism advocacy groups want to make sure that further research into autism is prioritized moving forward. They say that after Monday’s remarks, families are left with more questions than answers, as little information about the data supporting the claims was revealed, and raises a bigger discussion surrounding causation and correlation.

“The main thing I’ve been hearing is, you know, what’s the genetic component? What’s the environmental component? What’s the biological component? And how does that factor into what we heard yesterday,” Erin Enyart, executive director of the Autism Society of Iowa, said. “There wasn’t a lot of new information yesterday, you know, there wasn’t anything specific that was mentioned. And I think for those parents that do want to know that cause, you know, it’s not really anything new for them. And it’s just another question that they might have. And not a lot of secure information. And so, I think everybody’s just kind of questioning what they heard and how it’s going to affect them.”

Enyart says the society wants to ensure that future research surrounding autism isn’t halted as a result.

“What you don’t want to say is that this is the one cause and then turn off all of the research, you know, there still needs to be research,” Enyart said. “It’s not going to be a blanket cause that’s going to fit and, you know, encompass everyone. And so that research needs to continue. It needs to be evidence-based research. It needs to be long-term research. It can’t be something that just occurred, you know, recently. We need to factor in all the long-term research that we already know has occurred.”

Enyart says historically, there’s been a lot of stigma surrounding autism, and even finger-pointing, especially for mothers when it comes to potential causation. Enyart wants to remind parents of autistic children that they are doing the best for their child.

“I think it’s damaging for families when it creates a stigma on mothers that, you know, it’s taken decades to overcome those stigmas that it was the mother, you know, something that the mother did. And as a mom of two kids with autism myself, you know, there’s already a lot of guilt and blame and shame.”