Autism spectrum disorder is still diagnosed by the presence of certain behaviors, including difficulty recognizing social cues, avoiding eye contact, thinking in literal terms, wanting strict routines and having intense but narrowly focused interests. But every autistic person has their own unique constellation of behaviors and characteristics.
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Autism has a long history of misinformation that continues to today. The Trump administration has perpetuated some of this misinformation in the last year. Among other things, officials have claimed certain groups of people don’t get the condition and that taking Tylenol while pregnant causes autism to later develop in children. Today, NPR Science Correspondent Jon Hamilton sets the record straight with host Emily Kwong on what scientists do and don’t know about autism.
If you liked this episode, check out our episodes on an Autism researcher’s take on Trump’s claims about Tylenol and a Fragile X treatment that may be on the horizon.
Interested in more science in the news? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.
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This episode was produced by Berly McCoy. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Damian Herring.