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, reflecting expanded diagnostic practices.
• HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to identify environmental toxins as the cause of autism by September, a timeline experts call unrealistic.
• Researchers emphasize that the rise in diagnoses is due to broader screening and access to services, not a true increase in autism rates or an 'epidemic.'
• Advocates warn that framing autism as a preventable disease or crisis risks stigmatizing autistic individuals and undermining decades of progress.
• Kennedy's focus on environmental toxins has drawn criticism for revisiting debunked theories, including his long-standing claims of a link between vaccines and autism.