When Leadership Represents Self-Interest: Autism, Misinformation, and the Assault on Evidence-Based Medicine
Autism/Medical Mom with Neuropsychiatric Certifications, Soap Box Diary Entry 9/23/25:
I’ve spent my entire professional life practicing medicine with the principles of evidence-based care worked into every decision. I know the difference between a case report and a randomized controlled trial. I know the weight of decades of accumulated research versus a flashy headline or a celebrity soundbite. Which is why watching our so-called “leaders” gut the FDA, abandon scientific principles, and fabricate expertise is more than frustrating…it’s incredibly dangerous.
They stand on podiums and proclaim correlations as if they were causation. They cherry-pick weak data, quote studies that don’t exist, and gaslight the public into believing that opinion equals fact. They peddle their own brand of “science,” cobbled together with paint sticks and cotton balls like a disastrous middle-school group project, then hold it up as truth. And the saddest and/or scariest part? They don’t even recognize the depth of their own ignorance.
When Leadership Is Self-Serving
The most dangerous kind of leadership isn’t just ignorant: it’s calculated and manipulative. The people standing at the microphone aren’t confused; they’re opportunistic. They cherry-pick shaky data, invent connections, and amplify fear not to protect families, but to elevate themselves and their interests
It’s self-serving in every sense:
Attention over accuracy. Every viral headline and sensational claim keeps them in the spotlight, regardless of the harm to parents navigating real, nuanced choices.
Profit over people. Endorsing supplements tied to celebrity friends or business partners has nothing to do with science - it’s marketing disguised as medicine.
Power over progress. By undermining trusted institutions and mocking decades of hard-won evidence, they position themselves as the “truth-tellers,” the only ones who can be trusted - while the actual experts are sidelined or muted.
This is not leadership rooted in service, humility, or accountability. It’s leadership rooted in ego and greed. And when self-interest takes the wheel, families like mine are the ones left paying the price.
The Acetaminophen Distraction
Take acetaminophen. They call it a culprit for autism, throwing out “evidence” with low correlation scores while ignoring the dozens of higher-risk factors well established in the literature. They quote half-truths, misapply genetic findings like MTHFR mutations to the entire spectrum, and then conveniently promote supplements like leucovorin, coincidentally tied to their celebrity friends’ business interests.
This is not science. This is grift.
Meanwhile, pregnant women who are already vulnerable, already navigating overwhelming decisions - are told to fear the only safe fever reducer we have. Should we really encourage mothers to “boil their fetuses’ brains” rather than take acetaminophen during a fever? That’s not just poor guidance, it’s malpractice by proxy.
And the cruelest part of it all (yes, the cruelties are cumulative) ? These self-appointed experts speak as if they know autism, as if they understand its boundaries and its depths, its challenges and brilliances, while admitting they “don’t know where the spectrum begins or ends.” They can’t even DEFINE the “condition” for which they claim expertise. They ignore the decades of painstaking research, the genetic, neurological, and immunological underpinnings, and the deeply lived experiences of families like mine.
I’m the mother of a beautiful, brilliant, one-of-a-kind child on the spectrum. I didn’t take acetaminophen in pregnancy. I did all the “right” things. So tell me—what exactly did I do “wrong”? What box do you want me to check so you can feel better about your sloppy narrative?
Here’s my truth: autism is not caused by a single pill. It is not defined by one pathway, one mutation, or one parent’s prenatal vitamin cabinet. Autism is diverse, complex, beautiful, and so often misunderstood. And when leaders stand on stages, spewing misinformation, ignoring the nuance and richness of the condition, they harm not only scientific progress but also families who deserve compassion, support, and truth. They also minimize the individuals living with this condition and undercut their authentic expression and autism awareness as a whole.
The president of the American College of Physicians has already called for RFK’s resignation over these embarrassing displays. And honestly, anyone who has actually practiced medicine, anyone who has studied beyond the first chapter of an undergraduate textbook, should feel the same way. Because this isn’t leadership—it’s narcissism. It’s ignorance paraded as authority. It’s gaslighting dressed up as advocacy.
And it’s an insult to every parent, clinician, and researcher who has given their heart and soul to understanding autism in all its forms. And a slap in the face to any individual anywhere on the spectrum.
So here’s my plea: leave science to the scientists. Leave medicine to the clinicians. Leave my child’s story, and the millions of others like it - out of your political theatre and sloppy, gluttonous mouths. And if you really want to “save the children,” maybe start by releasing the files that would actually hold predators accountable, rather than creating new ones through misinformation.
Because this? This is straight up Idiocracy with Brawndo (“it has what plants need, it has electrolytes.” lol … watch the movie Idiocracy if you’ve never seen it and you’ll realize how accurately the future was predicted 20 years ago.)… And our kids, our families, and our future deserve so much better.
