The Trump administration held a press conference on Monday, Sept. 22, claiming that they found what causes autism. Really, it was just Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who made a claim that it is caused by Tylenol, despite no scientific evidence. It is just another step in the line of dangerous claims made by this administration, attacking health, especially neurodivergent disorders. As a 21-year-old male who is on the spectrum, I feel like I need to write on this and explain my thoughts on this situation. I also feel like it’s a reason to explain what it’s like to live with autism.

First off, being on the spectrum, I have dealt with a lot in my life. I have switched between three schools throughout my elementary and middle school years. I also attended UW-River Falls for my first year of college in the fall of 2022. Unfortunately, circumstances caused me to withdraw from the school in the middle of that academic year. After leaving UWRF, I applied and began to attend college here at UW Oshkosh just a year later in the fall of 2023, restarting the college experience all over again. 

Those years have brought a lot of depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide. Thoughts that I still battle today. Life with autism is a battle and is definitely challenging. But these experiences have made me stronger physically and mentally, and they have also helped me grow as a person. Being able to be in my junior year here at college, but also a co-sports editor on the Advance-Titan for a second year, is something I never thought I could do. 

I have had help along the way while being a part of this team on the Advance-Titan. Editor-in-Chief Jacob Link, who was the sports editor for three years, and my co-sports partner, Zach Bellin, have helped make my life easier while being a part of the paper. Former managing editor, Kelly Hueckman, also helped me adjust to my first semester as the sports editor and I appreciate and thank them for that. Autism is complex, but it is not a burden like this current administration wants you to believe.

I have not been afraid to voice my opinion on things when it’s something I feel like I need to express. However, it’s hard when the current President and his administration basically say that you are sick and a burden to society. It’s already a challenge to navigate living with autism, but when your own president is wanting you to hide and mask it instead of embracing it, it makes life with autism that much more challenging. 

Instead of trying to dance around it, it’s important to accept that neurodivergent people are out there, and all that is wrong is that we think differently.