Claims from the Trump White House^[1] about links between use of the painkiller acetaminophen – often sold under the brand name Tylenol in the U.S. – during pregnancy and development of autism have set off a deluge of responses^[2] across the medical^[3], scientific^[4] and public health^[5] communities.

As a father of a child with level 2 autism^[6] – meaning autism that requires substantial support^[7] – and a statistician...