September 2025 Presidential Remarks on Autism

 The September press release was another one of those “historic” days where autism was discussed publicly and then was the topic of the week. The release was helpful for getting out information about risks and factors in autism but, there wasn’t and isn’t a “key” – not one specific thing ”causes“ autism every time. And while the 4ish factors they brought up are so valuable, they hardly explained WHY they’re factors or gave listeners reasons to believe them. Over the last two years, the opinion I’ve come to is that autism runs in genetics, but environmental factors bring out the detrimental aspects of it. In our daughter’s case: before 2 years old, she knew all her letter sounds, spoke in long, clear sentences, and came up with the wittiest comebacks. She was withdrawn and wouldn’t sit with other kids. She had sensory struggles from birth, and didn’t sleep more than 10-45 minutes at a time until she was 4 months old. There were other more personal characteristics/symptoms that we noted and worked through as she grew, and we considered that she would likely qualify for an “Aspergers” diagnosis, but didn’t see the need to have her evaluated. Then she had the MMR & Chicken pox vaccines, and spiraled dramatically. The following year, we did see the need to evaluate her because we needed help, and she was diagnosed easily. Do I believe that vaccines transmit autism? No. But children with autism are extremely sensitive to oxidative stress, and triggers to the immune system can affect them and their inflammation levels greatly. In some individuals, the body’s antioxidant systems may be able to handle these vaccines, but a child with autism often has other co-factors such as low glutathione that make detoxification and methylation difficult. Hence why taking tylenol while pregnant is also a risk factor: tylenol depletes glutathione (one of the body’s main antioxidants and detoxifiers). If children with autism are already genetically predisposed to be low on glutathione, then you don’t want to deplete it more. Glutathione helps neutralize free radicals so oxidative damage doesn’t build up and damage the brain and mitochondria. Glutathione plays a key role in detox systems in the liver, detoxing heavy metals, pesticides, and toxins. [Low glutathione and vaccine intolerance was further confirmed for us when our daughter tested high for aluminum toxicity.] Glutathione helps regulate inflammation (inflammation in autism is HUGE. This is connected to PANDAS/PANS also. This is why so many children with autism are on gluten-free, dairy-free diets – because avoiding foods that cause inflammation is critical.) Additionally, glutathione is related to the methylation cycle and folate metabolism – which was brought up yesterday also. Children with autism often have a folate deficiency, which has been effectively addressed with Leucovorin (medication that is a form of folic acid, an essential B vitamin). If one thing is clear, it’s that the body is extremely complicated, and there is no one answer to the “cause” of autism. At the same time, it’s clear that we can make substantial, wonderful progress if scientists are allowed to study these factors and parents aren’t silenced when they share their observations. Nothing Trump or RFK Jr. or the doctors said is brand new information - but now it’s validated information. I can only hope that the information presented will be further proven, accepted, and put into mainstream practice. This in no way would take away from the uniqueness and “superpowers” of our children, it would only relieve them of the difficult aspects that aren’t shown on social media. Our children are amazing, and their parents have been fighting for them for a long time. If the White House and these research organizations and additional grant funding are truly joining the fight, this could mean important progress in our understanding of autism and dropping diagnoses rates. And how could anyone make that political - it would be a win for our children now and generations to come.