By: Tiffany Edwards
On Sept. 22, the United States (U.S.) President Donald J. Trump joined with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK), Director of the National Institute of Health (NIH) Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya, and Commissioner of Food and Drugs Marty Makary, to announce what they believe is the root cause of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
President Trump begins his speech with previously stated statistical facts that 1 in 31 children are autistic, which comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, he goes on to make claims that imply vaccines are the reason for a spike in autism.
“[…] And by the way, I think I can say that there are certain groups of people that don’t take vaccines and don’t take any pills that have no autism […] there are some studies that suggest that the Amish, for example, they have essentially no autism.”
ASD, also known mononymously as autism, is a developmental brain condition that affects a person’s social and learning abilities, and these symptoms can start to show in the first three years of life. Generally, when diagnosed with autism, a person could be considered low functioning or high functioning depending on how much assistance the individual needs to perform daily tasks.
As of 2022, with 16 reported sites, 1 in 31 children under the age of 8 were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, which showcases a significant difference from earlier years, where 11 sites reported 1 in 36 children in 2020, and 1 in 44 children in 2018. There has been a significant increase in children with autism, which is thought to be because of better analysis when it comes to diagnosing children. However, President Trump and the Department of Health believe that this may not be entirely the case and that the root cause is “acetaminophen,” which is found in Tylenol.
No research suggests that vaccines cause autism, and it is a myth that Amish people do not get vaccinated. According to a study done at the Department of Pediatrics at Akron Hospital in Ohio, Amish people tend to be more selective in which vaccines they get, rather than choosing not to get them at all. According to the study, Ohio has one of the largest Amish populations in the United States. When they reached out to other Amish communities, they expressed that their children are not vaccinated due to a lack of access.. Since autism is a neurological disorder that can result in behavioral issues and obstacles in learning, it can be brushed off as misbehavior or disobedience, making it harder for people to identify a child with autism.
Secondly, the plethora of vaccines President Trump refers to are the Hepatitis B and RSV vaccines that children receive at birth in addition to Diphtheria, Hepatitis B (second dose), Hib, Pneumococcal, Polio, Rotavirus, Tetanus and the Whooping Cough vaccinations that are received at one to two months all varying in the amount of doses, never exceeding four over the next 18 years of life. Remaining doses of Polio, Rotavirus, Tetanus, MMR, Chickenpox, and HPV are all vaccines administered after the first three months of life until age 18.
In addition to his remarks on vaccines and their impact on children with autism, he makes a claim along with RFK and Dr. Bhattacharya, introducing acetaminophen as the root cause of autism. According to RFK, there is research that suggests that women who take Tylenol, which contains acetaminophen, while they are pregnant, may be at an increased risk of giving their child autism.
He also emphasized that Tylenol is the only FDA-approved drug that pregnant mothers can take for pain relief. The article that is being referred to was published by researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where they observed levels of acetaminophen in the cord blood of newborns and their neurological status.
Based on the acetaminophen exposure study, it is found to be true that there is a correlation between these two things, as infants with higher amounts of acetaminophen seemed to have either Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD,) or ASD, or both; however, it is important to highlight that this is only one study that was cited in the speech, and the experiment was only conducted in Boston. One citation is not enough to make this claim; even if this experiment proves it to be true, it does not reflect the entire country.
Additionally, on Oct. 9, RFK also claimed that circumcision early in a child’s life could be the reason for an increase in autism, which could not be true because, as far as science knows now, autism is not developed after birth.
As the search for the causes of ASD and how to prevent it continues, the NIH has received $50 million to conduct research on the cause of autism, how to prevent it, and how to treat those who do have ASD. While this is a great and big step in the right direction that will hopefully yield results that can help those with ASD, it is important that people continue to do their research, spread awareness, and continue to follow up with the NIH findings about ASD in the upcoming years.
Works Cited
“Data and Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder.” CDC, 27 May 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/autism/data-research/index.html. Accessed 13 October 2025.
Mitchell, Kristin, et al. “Autism: Symptoms, Causes, Types, and Testing.” WebMD, 11 September 2024, https://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/understanding-autism-basics. Accessed 13 October 2025.
“Vaccines by Age | Vaccines & Immunizations.” CDC, 6 June 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/by-age/index.html. Accessed 13 October 2025.
“What causes autism?” Autism Speaks, https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-causes-autism. Accessed 13 October 2025.
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Wenger, Olivia K et al. “Underimmunization in Ohio’s Amish: parental fears are a greater obstacle than access to care.” Pediatrics vol. 128,1 (2011): 79-85. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-2599
Ji Y, Azuine RE, Zhang Y, et al. Association of Cord Plasma Biomarkers of In Utero Acetaminophen Exposure With Risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Childhood. JAMA Psychiatry. 2020;77(2):180–189. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.3259
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https://youtu.be/NiqSUd5iW_Y?si=dWBm3eeERuan_PEE