Hack

DEEP DIVE: What it was like being autistic this week

Donald Trump has a history of making outlandish claims.

But one of the things he said this week had experts in the US and here in Australia sounding the alarm: standing alongside his health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jnr, the US president announced his administration would send out a "physician's notice" warning against the use of paracetamol during pregnancy because of a supposed link to autism.

Almost immediately, experts lined up to de-bunk it.

In Australia, one said it was "a completely exaggerated reading of the science", while our medical regulator the TGA said the weight of evidence "does not support a causal link between paracetamol and autism or ADHD".

So how does this kind of rhetoric impact the autism community?

On today's deep dive, we bring you a longer cut of Dave's chat this week with an advocate, Bethany Woodman.

Bethany chats about how it feels to be autistic right now, and where the conversation on autism should really be focused.

Guests:

  • Bethany Woodman, autism advocate

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