Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, announced on Thursday that the nation’s leading health agency would undertake “massive tests and research efforts” to determine the cause of autism.
Kennedy, who has been a critic of vaccines for many years, said that the project will be finished by September, and hundreds of scientists are involved.
He discussed the plans with Donald Trump in a televised Cabinet meeting.
Trump said that vaccines may be responsible for the autism rate.
Trump said to Kennedy, “There must be something artificial that is causing this. If you can find a solution, you could stop taking something or eating something. Or maybe you should take a shot. But something is causing it.”
Autism is a developmental disability that results from brain differences. Autism can present with many symptoms, including delays in learning, language, and emotional or social skills.
Scientific consensus says that vaccines for children do not cause autism. Autism Speaks and other leading autism advocacy groups agree. But skeptics in large numbers have argued for years that there is indeed a connection.
Studies of twins and other research have shown that genes play an important role. So far, no single environmental factor is blamed. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which spends over $300 million annually on autism research, has identified some potential risk factors, such as prenatal pesticide exposure or air pollution. Other possible factors include extreme prematurity, low birth weight, or maternal health issues.
Both Trump and Kennedy expressed concern about the rising rates of autism diagnoses.
This increase can be attributed to increased awareness of the condition and changes in how it is diagnosed. Until recently, autism was diagnosed only in children with severe communication or socialization problems and repetitive, unusual behaviors. Around 30 years ago, the term autism spectrum disorder was used to describe a grouping of related, milder conditions. Milder cases of autism are more common than severe.
Diagnoses are being made at younger and younger ages due to improved screening and services for autism. There has been an increased awareness of autism among Black and Hispanic parents and more advocacy on their behalf.
Kennedy and other anti-vaccine activists have continued to claim that vaccines were the cause. This theory is based on a 1998 article, which was later retracted.
HHS didn’t immediately respond to a comment request.
