Myths About the Causes of Autism

At times, myths can spread about the cause of autism. One of our founders Dr. Gregory Prince, a prominent immunologist who has worked with the National Institutes of Health, shares some insights into the two most widely circulated myths.

Is there a link between vaccines and autism?

“In a word, no.”

“The myth originated from a 1998 paper in The Lancet that was based on only 12 children and had no control group. The author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, had undisclosed conflicts of interest, had manipulated evidence, and had broken ethical codes. The paper was fully retracted by The Lancet in 2010, and Wakefield lost his medical license. Nonetheless, the effects of the fraud persist widely.”

“One reason the myth persists is the coincidence of vaccine scheduling, particularly MMR, and the onset of some forms of autism. Another is that there has not yet been defined any cause of autism.”

“From the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University: ‘At this point, we have 16 well-conducted, large population-based studies, carefully designed, done by different investigators in different countries, using different but strong methods. And all have found no relationship between MMR vaccine, thimerosal in vaccines, or the number of vaccines given and autism. The evidence is compelling.’”

What about Tylenol (acetaminophen) as a cause of autism?

“Tylenol was approved as a prescription drug in 1950, and as an over-the-counter drug in 1955. If it is the cause (or even one cause) of autism, why did the dramatic upswing in autism prevalence not begin until several decades later?”

“Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed alleging a cause-and-effect relationship between Tylenol and autism. In 2024, a federal judge dismissed them, ruling that the plaintiffs’ scientific experts failed to prove causation.”

“While some published studies suggested an “association” between Tylenol and autism, a definitive study, published in 2024 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), involving 2.4 million children in Sweden, found no increased risk for autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability.”

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Dr. Gregory Prince has spent a half-century career in healthcare, as a clinician and a medical researcher. Upon earning doctorate degrees at UCLA in dentistry (1973) and pathology (1975), he and his wife JaLynn moved to Maryland, where he spent fifteen years at the National Institutes of Health, focusing on respiratory syncytial virus  (RSV), the primary cause of infant pneumonia throughout the world. He pioneered the prevention of RSV disease in premature infants using Synagis®, the first monoclonal antibody approved by the FDA for preventing any infectious disease. Synagis® has been administered to millions of high-risk infants and has saved countless lives. He has published over 150 scientific papers, the vast majority dealing with viral diseases of infants.

Dr. Prince partnered with JaLynn to begin Madison House in 2008. As chairman emeritus, he continues his personal quest to serve his son, Madison; the 5.5 million adults with autism in this country; and their families.