Nov. 21, 2025

Autism

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Autism

Show Notes

Stan, Clarence, Barry, and the Health Chatter team chat with Ellie Wilson, Executive Director of the Autism Society of Minnesota, about Autism Spectrum Disorder and the evolving landscape of support across the lifespan.

Ellie Wilson brings two decades of experience supporting children, teens, and adults on the autism spectrum. With a background in public health administration and policy, Ellie has completed advanced fellowships through Minnesota LEND (Leadership and Education in Neuro-Developmental Disabilities) and the National Institute of Educational Leadership. Her work spans recreation programs, K–12 and post-secondary education, emergency response systems, clinical and therapeutic settings, and community living environments. Ellie is widely recognized for building energized, collaborative partnerships that strengthen inclusion, acceptance, and equitable access for individuals with autism and other disabilities.

Learn more about Ellie's and Autism Society of Minnesota's work here

Join the conversation at healthchatterpodcast.com

Brought to you in support of Hue-MAN, who is Creating Healthy Communities through Innovative Partnerships.

More about their work can be found at https://www.huemanpartnershipalliance.org/

Research

What is Autism?

Also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
“...A complex, lifelong neurodevelopmental disability that affects essential human behaviors such as social interaction, the ability to communicate ideas and feelings, imagination, self-regulation, and the ability to establish and maintain relationships with others.” (AuSM)
“Over time, scientists have found some of the causes, including genetic links, certain viral infections, and parental age, but because autism covers a spectrum of disorders, there will not be a single cause.” (Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)
Diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR)

An individual must show traits in two major areas in order to be diagnosed

Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts (i.e. deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, etc.)
Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities (i.e. repetitive motor movements, inflexible adherence to routines, fixed interests that are abnormal in intensity, etc.)

Most autistic individuals have one or more co-occurring conditions

Research suggests that 70%-90% of children with autism have a co-occurring mental health diagnosis
Around 30% of individuals with autism also have an intellectual disability
Around 20% of individuals with autism also have epilepsy

Autism Prevalence (CDC, 2023)

Nationally: 1 in 36
MN: 1 in 34 (i.e. 3% of 8-year old children)

Increase from 2021 (1 in 36)
Prevalence in MN is higher among boys (4.4x more likely than girls)
White children are more likely to be identified with autism compared to Black children (3% v. 2.8%)
Hispanic children = 3%
Asian/Pacific Islander children = 2.4%

Autistic Masking

When an autistic person works to behave more like a neurotypical person or in ways that meet typical neurotypical standards
Can happen intentionally or unintentionally
A survival strategy (i.e. sometimes it isn’t safe for a person to act openly autistic
Masking for long periods of time can have negative consequences including anxiety, depression, fatigue, feeling disconnected from yourself, sensory suppression, loneliness, isolation, etc.

Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM)

Founded in 1971 and works to make the lives of individuals and families affected by autism better
Provides a variety of resources including therapy (support groups, 1:1 therapy), events (community summit, conferences), education (workshops, classes, trainings), summer camp, and advocacy opportunities

Language Developments

Moving from autistic/spectrum to neurodivergence/neurotypical

Autism in the News

Vaccines & Autism

Two early studies (1998 Wakefield studies and 2002 follow up study) claimed that MMR vaccines and or the measles virus cause autism, but both were deeply flawed

For example, in the 1998 studies (which were ultimately retracted), the researchers didn’t study the incidence in both vaccinated and unvaccinated children (i.e. at the time the paper was written, about 90% of children in England received the MMR vaccine; MMR is administered around the same age that children are often diagnosed with autism, so many children in the study were already diagnosed with autism when the received the vaccine)

“Autism has been studied for decades, including its causes. As with other conditions, when we don’t understand their cause, many things can be considered as the cause. For many years, people have questioned things that babies are exposed to before birth or in the early months of life. This includes environmental exposures to things like acetaminophen during pregnancy and vaccines in the first few months of life. In both cases, study after study have shown these hypotheses to be unsupported by the science. The evidence has not stopped some from continuing to speculate about them.” (Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) & Autism

“Recently, officials in the federal government suggested that acetaminophen is a cause of autism. The data they relied on were from limited studies that are not considered to represent the overwhelming body of evidence. For these reasons, scientists who study autism and professional organizations representing clinicians who care for pregnant women and children quickly released statements highlighting what the science tells us and why the suggestions to avoid acetaminophen can be dangerous.” (Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)

Sources

Autism

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