Autism is in the spotlight after health and government officials in Washington claimed it can be caused by acetaminophen. A Central New York expert on disability and inclusion said she believes the statements can dangerously change perceptions of the condition.
“Besides being incredibly damaging to autistic people … once again, autism being framed as something that we're trying to eradicate, trying to get rid of, it also continues a historical tendency to blame mothers,” said Christy Ashby, Syracuse University School of Education Professor.
Ashby is Director of the Center on Disability and Inclusion. She worries the controversial information that came from the White House and federal health officials erodes trust in public health.
“People have really strong feelings about it,” she added, and suggests “read and listen to as much information as you can that comes from autistic people and from families, right? Like really looking to autistic people as the experts.”
President Trump and Health and Human Services Directory Robert F. Kennedy announced earlier this week that they found a link between Tylenol and other acetaminophen products taken by a pregnant mother and an increase in autism in children. Ashby and other health experts have explained a link is not causation.
Ashby has also fought against a feeling a family might have that a diagnosis of autism closes doors and limits options. Effective strategies can be to find the best way to communicate with a child and to seek inclusive school opportunities. “And so really thinking about understanding individual strengths and needs and that the goal shouldn't be to get rid of autism or make somebody less autistic, but the goal should be supporting autistic children and youth to understand their own strengths and needs and to be able to reach meaningful goals,” Ashby suggested.
She expressed concern over the politicization of the condition, “and so I think that makes it even more imperative that we have lots of kinds of information and that we have lots of stories out there and that we talk about representation of disability in the media, that we talk about representation of disabled adulthood.”
Ashby agreed there could be a silver lining to the controversy, shedding more light on autism, and perhaps encouraging more research, “maybe the answer isn't we need more research on how not to have more autistic people. We need research into how to ensure that autistic people have the resources and supports they need to live meaningful lives.”
