Chicago area autism organizations, hospitals, health departments, and families were speaking out Tuesday against the announcement from the White House tying the use of Tylenol during pregnancy to autism.

Families said it's been a tough couple days since President Trump announced the Food and Drug Administration believes the use of acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol and many cold and flu medications — during pregnancy can be associated with an increased risk of autism. Medical experts have said the medication is safe, and there is no clear evidence of a relationship between use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and autism.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said it is "deeply concerned by the federal government issuing medical recommendations that are not backed by the full weight of scientific evidence."

IDPH referred people to the advice of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which has said there are no reputable studies that have concluded use of acetaminophen during pregnancy causes any neurodevelopmental disorders.

"Suggestions that acetaminophen use in pregnancy causes autism are not only highly concerning to clinicians but also irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients, including those who may need to rely on this beneficial medicine during pregnancy," ACOG president Dr. Steven Fleischman said in a statement.

While some research suggested there could be a possible association between acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders, those studies involved relatively small groups and did not prove a link. Larger and more robust studies have found no connection between acetaminophen and autism.

Don Brown, whose 7-year-old son Mickey was diagnosed with autism at age 2, said the president's announcement tying the use of acetaminophen by pregnant women to autism – without scientific evidence – has parents fired up.

"The parents feel like it's their fault that the child has autism, so we are always trying to look for answers. How did this happen? Why did his happen? Was there something I could've done differently?" he said. "Just hearing the words yesterday, I'm feeling like, 'Oh, this could have been our fault.'"

Brown said there's a blame game that parents of children diagnosed with autism play already. Even though a Swedish research study involving 2.5 million children found that acetaminophen use during pregnancy did not increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children, Brown said it's still hard, but he said the community is strong.

"The parents in the autism community, they do a lot of research, and they do a lot of vetting, and they don't let people just say anything," he said.

Sami Baker, director of the Illinois Autism Center, has years of experience in the field, helping children through Applied Behavior Analysis therapy, and knows how hard it is for parents already.

"It's another rabbit to chase. It's another thing to try to understand," she said of the president's announcement. "Too often we're trying to blame, we're trying to just see this as a diagnosis. Kids aren't diagnoses."

Baker's advice to parents and parents-to-be who are struggling with this is to go to their doctor.

"Consult with your doctor. Listen to their direction," she said. "Turn to the people that you trust. Turn to the doctors that you trust. Turn to the therapists that you trust."

"You should just focus on getting your child or whoever the help that they need right now, and focus on just giving them the love that they need," Brown said.