Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Wednesday that his department will look into six “environmental factors” that could lead to autism amid the rise in confirmed cases of neurodevelopmental disorders.
“We will publish a series of new research to pinpoint exactly what is causing environmental toxins. [autism]Kennedy said at a press conference. “This hasn’t been done before.”
Among the 71-year-old “factors,” the scrutiny stated to be scrutinized are ultrasound scans, mold, pesticides, food chemicals, medicines, air and water contamination.
Kennedy’s “environmental factors” assertion is broken from published research Tuesday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)argued that the increase in confirmed cases of autism is likely due to improved “early detection” techniques and increased awareness of the condition.
A CDC study found that 1 in 31 children under the age of 8 were diagnosed with autism, one in 54 in 2016 and one in 150 in 2000.
Boys were three times more likely to be diagnosed than girls.
“This is devastating for our country,” Kennedy said before claiming that he “knows that it is due to environmental exposure.”
“Autism destroys families and, more importantly, it destroys our biggest resource: our children.”
The secretary promised that some of the results of his research would be revealed by September.
“We have launched a massive testing and research effort involving hundreds of scientists from around the world,” Kennedy told President Trump at a cabinet meeting last week. “By September, we will know what caused the autism epidemic, and we can eliminate those exposures.”
On Wednesday, Kennedy said he wanted to remove the taboo. [so] “What people will know that no matter what they say, they can study and follow science without fear of being censored,” argued that the media is biased towards reports on the possible role of the environment in autism.
“There’s clearly an industry. This comes from environmental toxins,” he said. “And someone made a profit by putting that environmental toxin in our air, our water, or our medicine, our food.
In response to the CDC study, autism, a nonprofit awareness organization, called for a deeper and sustainable investment in autism research to not only understand its causes but also to support the rise in people diagnosed today.
Meanwhile, the American Autism Society contradicts RFK Jr. by insisting that CDC data “doesn’t show “the epidemic” as the story claims. It reflects the progress of the diagnosis and the urgent need for policy decisions rooted in science and the direct needs of the autism community. ”
