Leadership at The Autism Society of America is pushing back against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy\u2019s recent pledge to find the cause of autism spectrum disorder. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Kennedy promised to launch a \u201cmassive testing and research effort\u201d on Thursday to figure out what has caused the \u201cautism epidemic\u201d by September.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe find that unrealistic and misleading,\u201d President and CEO of The Autism Society of America Christopher Banks told The Hill. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Banks and The Autism Society of America\u2019s Chief Marketing Officer Kristyn Roth agreed that there is a \u201csignificant need\u201d for more investment and credentialed research to better understand autism spectrum disorder. \u00a0<\/p>\n
But the lack of transparency around Kennedy\u2019s proposed effort is concerning, they said. It is unclear who will lead the new testing and research effort and what methodology will be used in the process. \u00a0<\/p>\n
In the past, Kennedy has promoted the debunked belief that vaccines are somehow connected to rising rates of autism spectrum disorder. And on Thursday, he said that the new effort will involve \u201chundreds of scientists from around the world.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Banks and Roth worry that if Kennedy\u2019s testing and research effort is headed by people who believe in discredited theories such as that vaccines cause autism, decades of progress to understand and treat the condition will be undone. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe disability community, global scientific and medical community are all aligned that there is no direct link between vaccines and autism and millions of people have been studied through rigorous, rigorous studies of research over decades that has not found a link,\u201d Roth said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Autism spectrum disorder is a complex developmental disability that is influenced by genetic, biological and environmental factors. One in 36 children in the U.S. was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in 2020, up from 1 out of 44 in 2018, according to data<\/a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. \u00a0<\/p>\n