US health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr with US president Donald Trump during an event about autism where he delivered scientifically dubious remarks about what he described as one of 'the most alarming public health developments in history'. Photograph: Tierney L Cross/The New York Times
Even by the bizarre standards of our political era, witnessing Robert F Kennedy jnr and Donald Trump citing paracetamol as a potential risk factor in autism spectrum disorder last week was surreal. Autism has always been a concept that evades attempts to rigidly classify or understand it – the diagnostic manuals that guide clinicians have repeatedly redrawn and expanded the boundaries of what constitutes autism.
In the mid-1980s, researchers at the University of Utah and
Continue Reading on The Irish Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.