What RFK Jr. Gets Wrong About Autism

President Donald Trump hailed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a reformer when appointing him health and human services (HHS) secretary, declaring Kennedy would get “the American people the facts and the answers that we deserve.” Including about autism.

Since taking office, Kennedy has made the study of autism and its causes a focal point of what he hopes to accomplish at HHS, announcing the launch of a study examining the disorder’s causes and expounding on what he calls an “alarming rate” of diagnoses. But many of his statements about autism conflict with established, mainstream scientific understanding. Diverse coalitions of autism scientists and advocates have mobilized to counter Kennedy’s assertions, noting his positions ignore decades of peer-reviewed research. 

Here’s how Kennedy’s recent claims stack up with the latest scientific understanding of autism.