Overview

• The CDC's latest report shows autism prevalence among U.S. children rose from 1 in 36 in 2020 to 1 in 31 in 2022, with higher rates among non-white children and significant state variation.
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services Secretary, has labeled the rise an 'epidemic' and announced new studies to identify environmental causes by September, a timeline criticized as unrealistic.
• Experts and autism advocates push back, emphasizing that decades of research attribute rising diagnoses to improved screening, expanded diagnostic criteria, and better access to care, not environmental toxins.
• Kennedy's rhetoric framing autism as a preventable disease has been described by advocacy groups as stigmatizing and harmful, diverting attention from support services and inclusive policies.
• The CDC and researchers reaffirm there is no evidence linking vaccines to autism, countering Kennedy's past and present claims suggesting otherwise.