As part of a new report showing that autism diagnostics have increased again, the Secretary of Health and Social Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, who prioritizes autism as one of the chronic diseases he determined to approach with his goal of “making America again in good health”, ardently pushed back by the explanation that an extended definition of the autistic spectrum disorder is a significant contributor to diagnoses more autism.
The Secretary of Health and Social Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a press conference in the Department of Health and Social Services, April 16, 2025, in Washington, DC
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Kennedy said he wanted to “move away” from the idea that “the prevalence of autism increases – incessant increases – are simply artifacts of better diagnostics, better recognition or modification of the diagnostic criteria”.
“This epidemic denial has become a functionality in the consumer media, and it is based on a duck in industry. And obviously, there are people who do not want us to examine environmental exhibitions,” said Kennedy, speaking at a press conference at the headquarters on WaShington, DC
The report Kennedy mentioned – published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – estimated that the prevalence of autism has increased to 1 in 31 children, which Kennedy described as “shocking”.
In 2020, the same report revealed a prevalence of 1 in 36 and more than two decades ago in 2000, the rate was 1 in 150.
Experts in the field agree that diagnostics are increasing and that environmental factors could be at stake – but also affirm that most of the increase can be attributed to the growing definition of autism, which has been widely widened in recent decades to include more subtle characteristics of the disease, including new descriptors as recently as 2013.
“This is a fair question” to wonder why the prevalence of autism has increased, Dr. Catherine Lord, psychologist and autism researcher at the David Geffen School of Medicine of the UCLA, told ABC News, but she said that it was also important to recognize how much changed.
“There was a huge change in terms of awareness of autism, in particular the awareness of autism without severe intellectual disabilities, which has really changed even since I entered this area,” said Lord.
Studies also suggest that the risk of autism is strongly rooted in genetics, 80%.
Dr. Walter Zahorodny, clinical psychologist and professor who studies autism at Rutgers University, joined Kennedy at the Tuesday press conference to emphasize that there was a “real increase” in cases, something he said that he had seen throughout his career in New Jersey – although he recognized, unlike Kennedy, a greater variety of possibilities “Risk factors”.
“This is a real increase. There is a better awareness of autism, but a better awareness of autism cannot lead to a handicap like autism to increase by 300% in 20 years,” said Zahorodny, referring to the studies of New Jersey and the CDC report.
ZAHORODNY said that finding the cause was crucial and deplored a lack of progress to “tackle this question seriously” during his career.
“I invite everyone to consider the probability that autism, whether we call it an epidemic, tsunami or a wave of autism, is a real thing that we do not understand, and it must be triggered or caused by environmental or risk factors,” he said.
Kennedy admitted Tuesday that the increase in autism diagnoses could be partly caused by increased awareness, but said that it had left a large part of the jump in the diagnostics.
He called it “indefensible” to accept consciousness as the main reason, describing high issues of ruin families and “individual tragedy”.
“Autism destroys families, and more importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, who is our children. These are children who should not suffer like that,” said Kennedy. “These are children who will never pay taxes, they will never work, they will never play baseball, they will never write a poem, they will never go out to an appointment. Many of them will never use a toilet without help.”
“We must recognize that we do this to our children, and we have to end it,” he added.
However, all cases are as serious as Kennedy have described it; Many people diagnosed with autism live a highly functional adult life. The recent CDC report revealed that less than 40% of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder were classified as having an intellectual disability, which means a Qi less than 70.
Dr. Barry Prizant, auxiliary professor in the Department of Communication Disorders at the University of Rhode Island and director of communication services for private practice, told ABC News that Kennedy’s comments have distorted what autism is for families.
“I do not reject the challenges. There are considerable challenges, and many of them are obstacles to services,” he said. “We have been doing a parents’ retirement weekend for 27 years, where we spend a weekend with 60 parents and family members, and we do not meet family members and parents who say:” Autism is only a tragedy and it is hell in our lives. “They talk about positive points and negatives, joys and challenges.”
Autism Speaks also published a statement on Wednesday, qualifying Kennedy as “extremely disappointing and damaging” comments.
“Autism is not an avoidable condition,” said the organization of non -profit autism. “The suggestion that it is – especially when it is linked to environmental toxins without scientific evidence – goes to the old -fashioned disinformation of the decades and distracts the real needs of autistic people and their families.”
Kennedy said the NIH, led by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a former professor at Stanford University, will soon announce a series of new studies aimed at precisely identifying the environmental toxins to blame. Kennedy cited mold, food, pesticides, drugs, ultrasounds and parents’ age and health as possible.
Kennedy qualified that the study would provide “some of the answers” by September, which is a variation – welcomed by experts – of his claim to President Donald Trump last week that “by September, we will know what caused the autism epidemic”.
However, he also said on Tuesday: “We know that it is an environmental exhibition.”
Questioned by ABC News if he would undertake to follow the science revealed by studies, whatever his current expectations on what causes the diagnosis increase, the secretary said yes.
“We are going to follow science, no matter what it says,” he said.
Medical experts have been studying the potential causes of autism for decades. Research to date suggests that autism is motivated by genetics, and the risk can increase when associated with certain external factors, such as having children at a more advanced age or exposure to pollutants.
“It’s not easy,” said Lord. “If you look at high quality publications, the results are small and, in terms of causes other than genetics, have been quite difficult to reproduce. Do not mean that they are mistaken, but just that we have not fully understood what they should be.”
The HHS or the NIH have not provided details on how new studies will be carried out within the time given, but Kennedy has promised transparency, claiming that studies are traditionally conducted to funding university institutions by NIH.
