Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr is declaring a war on autism — claiming the neurodevelopmental condition is an epidemic that’s far worse than the deadly COVID-19 outbreak.
“This is an epidemic. It dwarfs the COVID epidemic and the impacts on our country because COVID killed old people,” Kennedy said Sunday on “The Cats Roundtable” radio show on WABC 770 AM.
“Autism affects children and affects them at the beginning of their lives, the beginning of their productivity,” the 71-year-old told host John Catsimatidis.
One in every 31 Americans is now diagnosed, Kennedy added, insisting that the economic cost of autism will skyrocket to $1 trillion a year by 2035.
“About 26% of them have no capacity [to live independently]. And the indications are they never will,” the HHS secretary said.
“We’re taking kids that should be healthy, that should be contributing to society … that should be … reaching their potential … and we’re injuring them very early in life. It’s an epidemic,” he said.
Autism spectrum disorder has no single known cause. However, scientists believe both genetics and environmental factors, such as complications during pregnancy, may play a role.
Earlier this month, Kennedy announced that his department would examine six “environmental factors” that he said could lead to autism.
Among the “factors” the HHS boss said would be scrutinized are ultrasound scans, mold, pesticides, food chemicals, medicines and air and water contamination. --->READ MORE HERE
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1 in 31 kids diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: 'Alarming but not surprising'
New data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed climbing autism rates among children.
In 2022, a surveillance program called The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network began monitoring children aged 4 to 8 across 15 U.S. states, focusing on multiple benchmarks of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Among 8-year-old children, researchers found that one in 31 children — more than 3% of America's kids — had ASD.
ASD was found to be 3.4 times more likely in boys than girls, and the prevalence was lower among non-Hispanic White children.
The CDC confirmed that ASD prevalence among 8-year-olds was higher in 2022 than the previous year, as one in 36 kids were diagnosed with autism in 2020.
By 48 months of age, identification of ASD was higher among children born in 2018 than among those born in 2014, which suggests "increased early identification consistent with historical patterns."
"[This] underscores the increased demand and ongoing need for enhanced planning to provide equitable diagnostic, treatment and support services for all children with ASD," the CDC commented in the report.
"The substantial variability in ASD identification across sites suggests opportunities to identify and implement successful strategies and practices in communities to ensure all children with ASD reach their potential."
Jonathan Alpert, a Manhattan-based psychotherapist and author, said he considers the CDC’s findings "alarming but not surprising."
"We’re living in a time when diagnosis has become the default, not the exception," he shared with Fox News Digital. "Whether it’s children in schools or adults in therapy, more and more people are being told they have a disorder." --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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