Thousands join fight against President Trump's false autism claims

Samantha Fletcher

The National Autistic Society has seen a huge outpouring of anger about the  horrendous misinformation about autism by President Trump this week. 

Thousands have signed up to our Truth. It Matters campaign, with 10,000 people signing up in the first 24 hours. The campaign was launched to fight back against the dangerous misinformation about the causes of autism from President Donald Trump that has sparked anger among autistic people and families.

Autistic people and family members of autistic children have shared concern on social media, with messages such as “I feel to blame”, “my autistic life is already difficult at times”, “such a depressing step backward” and “I’m frightened for my SEND children”.

President Trump’s announcement is the latest in a relentless rise in baseless and offensive claims about autism. It’s important to be very clear - Paracetamol does not cause autism and vaccines do not cause autism.

These claims lead to increased stigma for autistic people who already fight every day for appropriate school places, healthcare, mental health and employment support, and timely diagnosis.

https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/news/thousands-join-fight-against-president-trumps