Doctors in the United States will soon be advised not to prescribe paracetamol to pregnant women, after President Donald Trump claimed an “increased autism risk”.
He and his Secretary of Health, Robert Kennedy jnr, cited the unproven link as a major factor in the rise of autism diagnoses, something that has been widely disputed.
The call has been criticised worldwide, with health ministries globally moving to put out the flames. The World Health Organisation was quick to urge caution, saying several studies had “found no such relationship”.
Health Minister Simeon Brown has advised Kiwis to “follow Health New Zealand’s advice”, which is that “paracetamol is a safe medicine to use”.
Medical experts have described Trump’s rhetoric as “quite scary”, “disturbing” and “really damaging.”
University of Otago paediatrics and child health science officer Joanne Dacombe told The Front Page that autism was not a sickness or disease, and Trump failed to see that.
“I am autistic, and it’s really tiring to have to justify my existence. Trump’s announcement was a painful reminder for myself and many other autistics of how autistic people are often shamed and painted as a tragedy or a burden.
“But really, we just experience a natural variation of the human condition. And I guess we feel like we have to defend ourselves for the right to exist because some parts of the world, or some people like Trump, think that autism should be eradicated because we’re seen as a problem that needs to be solved through exploring causes and treatments.
“Basically, he would look to eliminate us.”
The rhetoric felt like the resurrection of the trend of mother-blaming, she said.
“It’s all really damaging for families and it’s really damaging for autistics as well ... The constant recycling of debunked myths only fuels stigma and harm for autistic people and their families.
“The danger lies in the ideas that get planted in people’s heads and the results that might occur. Some mothers might be plunged into despair thinking, ‘Oh, I did this,’ thinking that it has to have a blame and there should be no blame attached to it.”
There was never enough inclusion and support for the autistic community, she said.
“We need inclusive schools, an inclusive curriculum, inclusive employment opportunities and practices. We need a range of inclusive supports to really have true inclusion here in New Zealand.
“When I think about things that have improved, autism research in New Zealand used to be done to us, not with us. Now, we have much more of what I would call participatory research, where autistics can actually be involved in research that is about them. We have partnerships that help facilitate that.”
She said research priorities from the Autism Research Centre at Canterbury University were helping to shift the focus on improving the daily lives of autistics and their future outcomes.
They included determining their needs, the design, development and implementation of supports and services, inclusive communities, and understanding their perspectives and experiences.
“I think it’s got better in this country. There’ll always be some people who latch onto those ideas and push them.
“Kiwis often have a much more positive framing around autism, but some still latch on to the idea that it’s all vaccines, even though there have been so many studies that have debunked vaccines causing autism.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more about what more could be done to understand the autism community.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting, who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.