RFK Targets September for Autism Cause Breakthrough
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Thursday that his department will identify the cause of rising autism rates by September and plans to “eliminate those exposures” responsible. The declaration, made during a televised White House cabinet meeting, represents one of the administration’s most ambitious public health promises to date.
“We’ve launched a massive testing and research effort that’s going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world,” Kennedy told President Donald Trump. “By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we will be able to eliminate those exposures,” he stated confidently, according to Mediaite.
Kennedy cited alarming statistics during the meeting, claiming autism rates “have gone from our most recent numbers we think are going to be about one in thirty-one. So, they’re going up again.” He contrasted today’s figures with what he described as a rate of “one in 10,000 when I was a kid.”
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Medical Community Questions Timeline and Premise
The scientific community responded with skepticism to both Kennedy’s timeline and his framing of autism as an “epidemic” with a single identifiable cause. Current scientific consensus views autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a complex neurodevelopmental condition with multiple genetic and potentially environmental factors.
Dr. Alex Kolevzon, clinical director of Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, offered a more nuanced explanation for rising diagnosis rates. “New iteration[s] of the diagnostic manual” have “steadily” broadened the criteria for diagnosis, he told Newsweek.
“We are also diagnosing autism at younger ages due to effective screening based on recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics,” Kolevzon added. “Finally, there have been major changes in laws and cultural attitudes that have made educational accommodations and behavioral therapies more readily available to affected children, thereby driving diagnostic patterns.”
MASSIVE. HHS Secretary Bobby Kennedy says we will have an answer by September as to what is causing the childhood autism epidemic.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 10, 2025
RFK: "We've launched a massive testing and research effort that's going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world. By September we… pic.twitter.com/TzB8ogJ8EN
Advocacy Groups Push Back
Autism advocacy organizations have strongly rejected the “epidemic” framing. A spokesperson for the Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) was unequivocal: “There is no autism epidemic,” they told Newsweek.
“We have come a long way in our understanding of autism, and better understanding has led to higher rates of diagnosis. This is nothing to panic about, and it certainly isn’t proof of an environmental cause of autism,” the ASAN spokesperson continued, reflecting a position widely held among autism advocacy groups.
Autism Speaks, another prominent organization in the field, has noted that increased diagnoses among young adults suggests many people went undiagnosed in childhood, only receiving proper identification when “challenges in daily life become too difficult to manage.”
Presidential Support
President Trump expressed strong interest in Kennedy’s initiative during the cabinet meeting. “Think of that, so it was one in 10,000 children had autism, and now it’s one in 31. Not 31,000, 31. That is a horrible statistic, isn’t it?” the president remarked.
Trump speculated about potential causes, suggesting people might need to “stop taking something, you stop eating something, or maybe it’s a shot, but something’s causing it.” He added, “There will be no bigger news conference than that” when Kennedy announces his findings.
The CDC currently reports that approximately 1 in 36 children are identified with autism spectrum disorder, compared to 1 in 150 when the agency began tracking in 2000. Kennedy’s cited figure of 1 in 10,000 from his childhood predates standardized tracking of autism rates.
Historical Context
Kennedy’s announcement carries particular weight given his controversial history of statements regarding autism. He has previously suggested links between childhood vaccines and autism, claims that have been repeatedly debunked by scientific research. During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy avoided making such direct connections.
Documentary producer A.J. Perez criticized Kennedy’s approach on social media: “Neurodivergent people (like me) have always existed. RFK Jr. and anyone who thinks he will get to the bottom of the increased prevalence of autism are clowns. Research, diagnosis and treatment leads to more diagnoses.”
Dr. Kolevzon warned that “stoking fears of an epidemic, especially with falsified claims about an association with childhood vaccines, is scientifically unfounded.”
With Kennedy’s September deadline now established, both the scientific community and advocacy groups will be closely monitoring the HHS department’s research and conclusions, which could significantly impact public health policy and autism research funding priorities.
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