The Autism/Tylenol theory feeds the broader fake autism cures industry, including supplements being touted this week by Dr. Oz.
By Anne Borden King
In a blast of irony, RFK’s claim that Tylenol causes autism has given a lot of autistic people a headache. Because we know this is only the beginning of another avalanche of autism pseudoscience.
In his statement, the US President enigmatically said, “I think we found an answer to autism. We won’t let it happen anymore.” But as CBC reporter Natalie Stechyson notes, “Medical experts have pushed back, saying there’s no causal evidence linking fetal development and acetaminophen.”
Unfortunately, science will not deter the scammers. I can already imagine the boldface ads on Facebook: “If your child was autismed by Tylenol, enrol in our detox program TODAY!”
In fact, this week Dr. Mehmet Oz is doing a media circuit, promoting a branded vitamin supplement that he claims may treat autism–a supplement that was recently been approved by the FDA. Go figure, eh.
The vitamin itself has been touted on Facebook by countless companies, with no clinical evidence of benefit. This is something Dr. Oz himself seemed to acknowledge in an interview with the TMZ guys, who patiently explained correlation/causation to the audience (as this week’s announcement seems to have completely abandoned the concept).
Meanwhile, our members in parent Facebook groups are already seeing underground sellers claiming their bogus products (like fake supplements & bleach products) can detox kids from Tylen-autism.
It’s all part of the big scheme to fleece parents of their cash while contributing nothing to improving quality of life for autistic people and our families. The pseudoscience industry makes its billions by exploiting the concept of a toxic world—the idea that danger lurks in everything we ingest, breathe or experience.
The scammers know they can’t make a dime unless they inculcate fear in people. When you stop being afraid, you cease to be a customer.
I know this because I ran a campaign to expose autism scammers. I did a deep dive on social media, wrote features and reported scammers, eventually writing a book about it all. What I learned is that the grifters’ key marketing tool is social media algorithms that force messages of fear and outrage at people 24 hours a day.
In fact, online grifters have warped many people’s perception about risk to the point where some are physically endangering their children while “detoxing” them with stem cells infusions, chelation and even bleach, spending tens of thousands of dollars on bogus products.
The emotional costs are also massive. Suicide rates are much higher in our population compared to others. Just imagine your parents are telling you (and all their friends!) that you were a toxic accident. This happens to autistic people whose parents have gone down the social media rabbit hole of “severe autism” communities that promote useless vitamins and tinctures, all which detract from real therapies and inclusion initiatives.
Families cannot connect if one child is always viewed as a broken version of normal.
The old joke in our community is: Sex causes autism. It’s funny because it’s true! We don’t know (and can’t control) most of what we experience. But we can control how we react to the unexpected. Amazing things happen when you say no to the fear mongering, put down the phone and pick up your life. Snake oil salesmen will come and go…but acceptance, love and family will always endure.
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