Tylenol and autism claims: ‘Cherry-picking facts without good science does more harm’

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Tylenol and autism claims: 'Cherry-picking facts without good science does more harm'

Pediatric experts available for interviews about acetaminophen-autism and leucovorin claims

CHICAGO --- Developmental pediatric experts at Northwestern University and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago are available to speak to reporters who are covering the Trump administration's assertion that there is a link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism, saying the claim "doesn't stand on good science."

The experts:

Dr. Rachel Follmer,assistant professor of pediatrics in the division of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a physician at Lurie Children's who sees autistic patients clinically.

Dr. Larry Gray, associate professor of pediatrics in the division of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Feinberg and a physician at Lurie Children's who sees autistic patients clinically.

The experts can talk to reporters about:

• The decades of research into the cause of autism, including the landmark 2024 study by Swedish and American scientiststhat found no increased risk of autism from acetaminophen use in pregnancy
• What families can do in response to hearing these claims
• The history of "refrigerator mothers"
• Guilt mothers might now experience if they had taken Tylenol during pregnancy
• Leucovorin, also known as folinic acid, which has recently been touted as a possible autism treatment

Contact Kristin Samuelson at [email protected]to schedule an interview.

The experts on the risk of these claims, maternal guilt

Dr. Follmer: "I fear this is going to potentially hurt families. Women are going to be scared of taking Tylenol in pregnancy. Certain untreated conditions in pregnancy put you at risk for other things. For example, there is a potential association between fever and neural tube disorders like spina bifida.

"So many mothers of neurodivergent children really blame themselves, as we often do as mothers, thinking, 'There was something I did or didn't do in pregnancy or early childhood that could have changed the outcome.' It feels like a step back to the days when we used to blame mothers for the neurodivergence in their children. This creates a huge amount of guilt. It's not helpful in reducing the rates of neurodivergence and doesn't help the children who are neurodivergent. Rather than focus on something we can vilify, we need to be focusing more on how to help families and value individuals for their differences.

"We would love to have more tools and ways of supporting families - especially the families who deal with the more extreme end of autism - but rushing the process and ignoring or cherry-picking facts without good science ends up doing more harm and adding additional mistrust to patient-provider relationships."

Dr. Gray: "Pregnant individuals and families confused about the assertion that there is a link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism should consult their physicians. In the setting of families getting really upset about this information, it's those relationships that get us through these challenging times. They should reach out to get support. They can also consult the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologistsas another trusted source of information."

The experts on leucovorin as a possible autism treatment

Dr. Gray: "We know that prenatal folate is important for brain and spine development, which is why maternal vitamins containing folate are important for preventing conditions like spina bifida. However, there is less information about the role of folate after birth, except in certain extreme conditions that do not apply to most children with autism. While early reports present some interesting data, there is still a lot of uncertainty about whether leucovorin will prove to be helpful."

Dr. Follmer: "There's some initial data showing positive results, such as language improvements or better engagement from the autistic individual, but there's concern for some bias and the small sample sizes. I think everyone is interested to see if leucovorin could be helpful, but we all want more research before we jump on board to say this is helpful."