STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (September 22) linked autism to childhood vaccines and also to the use of popular pain medication Tylenol for pregnant women and children, claims which are not backed by decades of science.

In an extraordinary news conference at the White House, the Republican president delivered medical advice to pregnant women and parents of young children, repeatedly telling them not to use or administer the over-the-counter pain killer.

The advice from Trump, who has no medical training and also pointed out "I'm not a doctor," goes against that of medical societies, which cite data from numerous studies showing acetaminophen plays a safe role in the well-being of pregnant women.

We have strong evidence that acetaminophen is not causing autism," said Dr. Audrey Brumback, an autism expert and researcher at the University of Texas at Austin told Reuters on Monday (September 22).

The Trump Administration also suggested leucovorin, a form of folic acid, as a treatment for autism symptoms.

Brumback said several months ago, many parents of children with autism were asking about leucovorin, which had "gone around on social media."

"Every patient was asking about this."

After researching it, Brumback said, "There's not good evidence that it works. There are some studies, but they're small and they're not the best studies. And so it's certainly not something I'm actively recommending."

Dr. Brumback is concerned that pediatricians and primary care doctors will now be bombarded with requests for the treatment or additional questions about whether childhood vaccines cause autism.

“The things that were said at that press conference aren't based in fact. And so pediatricians are going to feel like they're on the defensive - having to defend practice that is based on solid evidence. “

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: INTERVIEW WITH DR. AUDREY BRUMBACK, AUTISM EXPERT AND RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN / FOOTAGE OF TABLETS, BOTTLES AND BOXES OF TYLENOL ANALGESIC / SOUNDBITES BY U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND U.S. HEALTH SECRETARY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"I want to say it like it is. Don't take Tylenol. Don't take it. If you just can't, I mean, fight like hell not to take it. There may be a point where you have to and you have to work out with yourself. So don't take Tylenol.”

AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUTISM EXPERT AND RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, DR. AUDREY BRUMBACK, SAYING:

“You know, we're all trying to understand autism. We're trying to find the causes. We're trying to find treatments and to have, you know, these kinds of statements be infused into the conversation is unhelpful. And it just provokes anxiety. And I think it's going to steer people who are pregnant to do things maybe against the advice of their physicians.”

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

3. VARIOUS OF TABLETS, BOTTLES AND BOXES OF TYLENOL ANALGESIC

AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUTISM EXPERT AND RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, DR. AUDREY BRUMBACK, SAYING:

“I would say we have strong evidence that acetaminophen is not causing autism. It's certainly not the cause of autism. And so to make that sort of statement that nobody should take Tylenol, takes away the individualized nature of how we practice medicine and how these medicines are prescribed for families, for the people that they're prescribed for both during pregnancy and for children.”

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. HEALTH SECRETARY, ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., SAYING:

“We have also identified an exciting therapy that may benefit larger numbers of children who suffer from autism. Reviewed literature has documented that up to 60% of folate deficient children with ASD can have improved verbal communication if given leucovorin.”

AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUTISM EXPERT AND RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, DR. AUDREY BRUMBACK, SAYING:

“A couple of months ago, many of us in the autism clinical realm, we were approached by our patients. Everybody was talking about leucovorin. It had sort of gone around on social media and so every patient was asking about this. And so I read up on it. I looked at what the evidence was for and against it. And here's what I concluded. There's, there's not good evidence that it works. There are some studies, but they're small and they're not the best studies. And so it's certainly not something I am actively recommending.”

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

7. TRUMP SPEAKING AT PRESS CONFERENCE

AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUTISM EXPERT AND RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, DR. AUDREY BRUMBACK, SAYING:

“The things that were said at that press conference aren't based in fact. And so pediatricians are going to be, you know, they're going to feel like they're on the defensive, having to defend a practice that is based on solid evidence and we have decades of experience with.”

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

9. TRUMP SPEAKING AT PRESS CONFERENCE

AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUTISM EXPERT AND RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, DR. AUDREY BRUMBACK, SAYING:

“To have a conversation with every family about why we should continue doing what we're doing, it's just not tenable. Pediatricians aren't going to be able to have that conversation with every family. And so what I'm worried about is that families are just going to say, well, my pediatrician doesn't have time to talk to me about that, so I guess I'll just go with what this non-doctor said on the Internet.”

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

11. U.S. HEALTH SECRETARY, ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. SPEAKING AT PRESS CONFERENCE