The US Health Minister has promised to find the cause of autism by September
The United States will identify the cause of autism by September, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Thursday, setting a deadline for an answer that has escaped scientists for decades.
Autism diagnoses in the United States have increased significantly since 2000, which has increased public concern. By 2020, the share of autism in the United States in 8-year-old children was 1 in 36, or 2.77%, compared to 0.66% in 2000, according to the Center for Control and Prevention of US Diseases.
| « We will know by September by your instruction. We have started large -scale tests and research efforts that will include hundreds of scientists from around the world, » Kennedy said at a meeting on President Donald Trump’s cabinet. « By September, we will know what caused the epidemic of autism and we will be able to eliminate these exhibitions, » Kennedy said. |
Although the government has not published details of its plans, Christine Roth, the chief marketing director of the Autism Society Advismal Group in America, has asked whether September is an attainable goal.
Talking about growing levels of autism as an epidemic is « incredibly irresponsible and deeply anxious, » Roth said, adding that it « encourages fear, paranoia » and stigmatizes the autism community.
Autism is a state of life development that affects people in many different ways.
Christine Roth,. Autism Society in America
In February, Trump ordered the establishment of a « make America again » Commission, made up of Kennedy and other secretaries, to examine everything from the levels of autism and asthma in children to how much medicines are prescribed for their attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder or other conditions.
| « There must be something artificial that causes this, » Trump said to Kennedy at the meeting. « There will be no bigger press conference than when you come up with the answer. » |
Scientists have been studying for decades what genetic factors or environmental factors can contribute to autism, but the causes in most cases remain unclear.
Children’s Language News: ADHD – a shortage of attention or hidden force
They say that the main drivers of increasing the percentage of autism in the United States are the use of an extended definition that includes more types of behavior, as well as more widespread awareness and diagnosis of the population.
- A major new study this week added evidence that diabetes during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of problems with the brain and nervous system in children, including autism.
- Kennedy has long maintained a relationship between vaccines and autism in the scientific community with evidence.
« We will look at the vaccines, but we will also look at everything. Everything is on the table, our food system, our water, our air, different ways of parenting, all kinds of changes that may have caused this epidemic, » Kennedy told Fox News later.
There are numerous studies on autism – a state of neurological development that affects the way the human brain works. The American Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning a large -scale study on potential relationships between vaccines and autism, Reuters reported last month.
| Democrats in the House of US Representatives sent a letter to Kennedy on Thursday, criticizing the hiring of the discredited skeptic regarding Vaccines David Geyer to explore the relationships. Geyer was fined by Maryland for the practice of medicine without a license and prescribing dangerous treatments for children with autism. |
The National Institute of Health (NIH) is preparing a research program for millions of dollars investigating the causes of autism, which will also look at the relationship between autism and measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, Washington Post reported last week.
« We are looking for another diagnosis »: more and more children have special needs and the school is involving them on paper
CDC and NIH are controlled by the Ministry of Health and Human Services, led by Kennedy. He has a long history in promoting lies about autism, especially in connection with vaccines, said Colin Kilik, CEO of the autistic self -adoption network.
« With this last message, it seems that he continues to spread misinformation to the public about the supposed causes of autism that cannot be supported by science, » Kilik said.
