I was shocked and dismayed by what President Trump had to say on the subject of autism yesterday. As the Guardian reported:
The Trump administration unveiled highly contentious conclusions about the causes of autism, together with a push for research purporting to find a possible “cure” for the condition on Monday.
After months of widely trumpeted investigations spearheaded by the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump announced that pregnant women should limit their use of acetaminophen, usually branded as Tylenol in the US or paracetamol elsewhere, which he claimed heightens the risk of autism in children when it is used by pregnant women, an assertion hotly contested by scientists internationally and contradicted by studies.
They added:
Speaking from the White House, flanked by Kennedy, the president said he had “waited for 20 years for this meeting” and added: “It's not that everything's 100% understood or known, but I think we've made a lot of strides.”
Autism, and the broader issue of neurodivergence, is something in which I have taken an interest for a long time: as a member of my extended family, as a one-time school governor with an interest in special educational needs, as a parent, and simply because of the impact that the issue has on people that I know.
Autism, and the related issues of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and AuDHD (the situation where a person has both autism and ADHD) - all of which might be described as neurodivergent conditions - are issues about which I have read a lot as a result. That, I suspect, is obvious from what I have had to say on this issue and my concerns about it over time.
As a result, I have criticised Kemi Badenoch and the current Conservative Party leadership for their appalling comments and atrocious attitude towards those with special educational needs arising from these conditions.
I have similarly condemned comments made by Nigel Farage in his various political incarnations on the issue. His attitude to those whose educational needs differ from the norm is utterly unacceptable and a denial of the basic human rights of those with these conditions.
And now we have Trump and Kennedy, who have noticed some correlations or associations in the world around them but admit they have no proof of anything, but have jumped to massive and unjustified conclusions. All they seemed to say was:
- Women give birth to autistic children, so women have something to do with this.
- Most women take paracetamol during pregnancy as it is the only painkiller they are recommended to use, and fever in pregnancy is dangerous to a fetus, so many, if not most, women will take it whilst pregnant.
- There is, therefore, a correlation between taking paracetamol and having an autistic or neurodivergent child.
What they are forgetting is that there is a strong correlation between those who carry cigarette lighters and those who have lung cancer, but that does not prove that cigarette lighters cause that form of cancer. Yesterday's claims by Trump are as absurd as that.
In my opinion — and very clearly that of many medical experts (which might matter rather more) — these claims are total nonsense. These neurodivergent conditions are inherited and persist throughout a person's lifetime. There is no 'cure'. They are how a person is.
In this context, please note the separate blog that I will be posting simultaneously to this one, which discusses what the three currently recognised forms of autism are, together with descriptions of ADHD and AuDHD, with an emphasis upon the fact that it is now widely recognised that these conditions did not first appear in the 1940s (when autism was first described), or as late as 2013 in the case of AuDHD (when it was first accepted as existing), but have instead existed for many millennia (or more), precisely because they conferred evolutionary advantage on some groups in society — with which claim I would agree, at least in the case of less severe forms.
This being said, I think it is only appropriate that I lay my own cards on the table, which I have long resisted doing. I do not have a diagnosis for any of these conditions. I am, however, aware of the process involved in getting such a diagnosis. I also know some people who know me well, and who are familiar with these conditions — most especially in the special educational field — who think that I might well have AuDHD. This, they suggest, would explain my passionate and dedicated commitment to a limited range of interests throughout my life.
I am not able to comment for sure, but what I do know from my experience of others who have these diagnoses is that the one thing you can guarantee about their behaviour is that they refuse to comply with the norms that society lays down, because their brains are simply wired differently from the majority in the population. Some in that majority - and most especially those on the far-right of the political spectrum - are, as a result, apparently threatened by the ability of people with these conditions to think of both questions and answers about what is happening in the world around them that are fundamentally different to those which neurotypical people might seek to pose and address. Hardly surprisingly, in that case, those who seek uniformity of behaviour in the population at large — which those on the political far right always seem to do — do, as a consequence, feel particularly frightened by those who have these conditions.
It's a fact that neurodivergent people are just not wired to think as others do, but that does not mean there is anything wrong with them. They are different in the way that men and women are different, adults and children are different, people who are gay and people who are straight are different, and those who are left- and right-handed are different. All of these things come down to our wiring, and every one of them adds to the necessary diversity within the human population that has helped ensure our survival as a human race.
And now we have Trump and Kennedy — no doubt to be followed in short order by Badenoch, Jenrick and Farage — each suggesting that autism is a recent, drug-created disorder that can be cured, when the likelihood that either of these claims is true is statistically very little different from zero.
Let me contextualise this. Trump said this weekend that he hates those who oppose him. He thinks them to be his enemies. Amongst those who are much more likely than average to oppose Trump are those who have these neurodivergent conditions, or a combination of them.
His announcement yesterday does not in any way represent a medical breakthrough. It is simply an extension of his campaign of hate against those whom he thinks differ from him. That is what this is all about, and it is not hard to imagine where this goes next.
I am genuinely very worried for the very large numbers of people whose lives are going to be thrown into turmoil as a consequence of the fear that Trump will accelerate, and which those who follow him will generate on this issue. Maybe one in six people might be affected by these conditions, although not all will realise it, but the chance is that many of them are now facing considerably increased risk as a result, simply for being who they are.
Day after day, the world we live in gets ever more toxic for everyone, including those who wish to fuel hate and who are driving this process of discrimination.
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[…] I have already noted this morning, I believe that President Trump's announcement on autism, made last night, is a part of his […]
Trump’s an imbecile.
Every pronouncement is unevidenced; every utterance is nothing more than a belly rumble.
Why does anyone give his moron any credence. It’s intolerable that the world dances to the idiot’s tune.
I would suggest that it is unwise to take health advice from a man who thought you might treat covid by injecting bleach, or by bringing bright lights “inside the body”.
There are some very good quality studies that indicate paracetamol is safe in pregnancy (and almost certainly safer than failing to take it when necessary) and that comprehensively reject Andrew Wakefield’s false claims about MMR.
Vaccination is one of the miracles of modern science and has saved countless lives. Trump’s anti scientific meandering are likely to lead worried people to reject or delay medical interventions and so cause avoidable deaths and injuries.
I wonder if they also believe that the Mariana Trench was created by submarines as we only discovered it after we built them.
🙂
One suspects that narcissistic personality disorder, well described by Freud and exhibited by Trump, may be caused by proximity to gold (or at least gold paint).
🙂
I may have mentioned this before but am not totally sure as I can’t remember every post I have ever made. So, apologies if I have and am repeating it here.
I do, as the saying goes, ‘have skin in the game’. My two sons are have both been diagnosed as autistic. Also, I suspect that I might be as well. I haven’t had a diagnosis partly because it is only recently that I have had these suspicions and partly because I’m not sure it would be of benefit other than to confirm my suspicions.
Anyway, this fills me with dread, fear and worry. Autism hasn’t only just appeared. The best analogy I have seen goes something along the lines of ‘Pluto was discovered in 1930 but did it only start to exits then? Same goes for autism’. Whilst my two sons have a level of independence (the eldest graduated from uni last year and the youngest is about to start his final) they still require support. Indeed, that support has helped in them getting to where they are now and will help them in the future as they go through their life and contribute to society.
As a society, we should be proud to provide support to those who are autistic, their families, their schools and, should they be able to work, their employers etc and not treat it as something to be feared or dismissed as not existing or as being made up. We should be curious to learn about autism and, indeed, everything else that comes under the neurodivergent umbrella, to understand more about it, expand our knowledge so that as a society we are more tolerant and empathetic towards each other.
We are living in scary times. I do fear for what happens immediately but also what comes next. Which other groups will be targeted? I hope that out of this darkness comes some light.
I appreciate I may have rambled a bit but I hope I got my point across.
Craig
P.S. On a lighter note, kept within the 400 word limit:-)
So very much to agree with, and good luck.
Thanks
Craig
This is something Dr Russel Barkley (a now retired but leading expect in ADHD) often comments on. He has covered studies like this on YouTube and rightfully points out that once you control for if the parents have the genetic markers for ADHD the causation disappears.
Also women with neurodiversity often have other issues such as hyper mobility which would necessitate painkiller use
Sadly this flawed conclusion that is being parroted will cause so much harm
Trump and Kennedy, showing the world that brain conditions don’t have to hold you back.
In all seriousness, the blogs and videos on this site have resonated with me so much because they highlight the limitations of classical economics and neoliberalism in accounting for or acknowledging differences. It so neatly marries into right-wing politics and Fascism’s need for homogeneity that it is easy to see why neoliberalism and fascism go so well together. Instead of expanding the state to provide for differences, SEN accommodation in schools, for example, they attack the diagnosis. There are too many autistic kids; there must be something wrong, as they don’t fit our model or our worldview. The fact that so many so-called diagnoses of causes attack the mother is also very telling. Of course, it has to be the woman’s fault somehow. Let’s control their pregnancies and make sure they only put out acceptable offspring.
As I watch my son navigate a world made for neurotypical people, it strikes me that although he is the outlier, he appears the most rational. His constant questioning of why things are done the way they are, his curiosity about things that other people take for granted, these are things we should all be doing. We should speak plainly and mean what we say. We should ask questions. There is no purpose in putting people down or being mean. If the invisible hand of the market is looking for a rational being, then they have completely missed them.
The powers that be are right to be concerned about the neurodivergent. In a world where we do things because they have always been done that way, they ask why, and do it differently.
Much to agree with
I hope your son goes well
A sceptical approach to politician utterances is the wisest approach. Donald Trump, for example, recently attacked George Soros as an enemy of the people yet here is Soros attacking China as an enemy of the world under its current leadership:-
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-huawei-threat-to-european-values-by-george-soros-2020-02
Absolutely correct that autistic and AuADHD people are strongly resistant to going along with unverified nonsense and therefore often tend to be scientists, researchers etc..
The Asch conformity experiments clearly prove that at least 75% of people will knowingly give the wrong answer to fit in with the expectations of the group. Unfortunately, right-wing politicians seem to have realised they can exploit this.
I’m pretty sure most ND folk will fall into the other 25% though.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments
I suspect you are right.
So we have a divergent diversion once again.
We get all sorts of shit thrown at us – except the truth: Neo-liberalism is finished.
It’s the long goodbye obviously.
Trump to set out his “vision for the world” in his address to the UN General Assembly later today. He’ll be speaking at about 14.50 UK time.
He tweeted this about himself in 2018 “Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart”. A speech not to be missed!
Personally, it’s sunny here in west central Scotland and my grass needs strimming.
He was laughed at last time
I’m not sure it’s entirely the politics of hate (although there is an element of that), it’s also the willingness to just make things up to claim success on another unfulfillable promise.
The Trump administration (primarily RFK Jr, but by extension Trump since he supported and praised RFK so strongly) promised a ‘cure for autism’ by September.
This announcement, near the end of September, is their announcement to try to claim success on another one of the administration’s promises. That it achieves nothing of the sort, is profoundly harmful (as people WILL die from not treating fever adequately), and is opposed by basically all serious medical experts, matters little.
I had thought of saying that this was like North Korean announcements of having ‘solved’ nuclear fusion back in 2010. However, the US Energy Secretary claiming nuclear fusion would be powering homes within 5 years means the administration has already made a much closer claim to that. This is along the same lines, though. Make an outlandish boast about what you can achieve, make a claim of victory, and then try to silence any discussion about the topic to hide the fact that the claim was not real.
As such, it’s as much the politics of narcissism and pride.
We have an autistic child. My wife took nothing during her pregnancy. What do you make of that Donald you odious moron?