UCSB Autism Expert Disputes Trump’s Claims, Says There Is Not One Cause
Tracy Lehr
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – When the Trump Administration cited Mount Sinai and Harvard researchers who found associations between acetaminophen exposure in early pregnancy, over long periods, and neurodevelopment disorders, President Trump said, “Taking Tylenol is not good.”
But one of scientists in that very study said the administration may be “jumping the gun.”
The director of the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Koegel Autism Center Dr. Ty Vernon said the announcement Monday was not based on scientific consensus.
“Current Scientific evidence does not support direct link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism. While some studies show some association between the two, higher quality studies show no evidence of causal link,” said Vernon.
He calls the comments by the administration dangerous.
“There is serious concern about selectively focusing on results that fit the predetermined narrative that Tylenol causes autism and ignoring other studies that don’t support that narrative. It’s dangerous and harmful to both current and future mother to make claims that aren’t supported by current evidence.” said Vernon.
People may be alarmed.
“There’s a lot of folks out there who may be disheartened by the news recently and I would say there’s a lot of folks on your side, that autism again is a form of neurodiversity, is a human difference and we are all about embracing those differences because that rich diversity is what makes our country so amazing and what makes our world so great,” said Vernon.
Vernon got his doctorate studying children with autism at UC Santa Barbara.
Students at the center work with people of all ages on the spectrum.
“Our main message is that autism research should be focused on support, the individual support, the family support and that is where Federal research dollars should be going,” said Vernon.
Vernon also commented on vaccines.
“The science out there definitively shows that autism is not caused by vaccines, there is a strong genetic component to it, but it is also very complex, we have done a lot of the research that shows there is not, kind of, this one cause of autism and nor should funding be going just to search for causes when really the pressing need out there is to provide support for individuals on the spectrum, their families and the broader community in general.”
Dr. Vernon calls the center’s approach a neurodiversity affirming approach.
“We want to think about what are you excited about, what are you passionate about and how do we help you reach those goals,” said Vernon.
Other researchers were quick to say the rates of Tylenol use in pregnancy have gone down in recent years, even as autism rates have risen.
Vernon quotes a study saying one in 32 children, eight-years-of-age, are on the spectrum.
While current research does not show a definitive cause for autism Vernon is concerned about loss of government funding.
The center is raising awareness and has a number of autism community groups and an art show coming up December.
For more information visit https://education.ucsb.edu
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