RFK Jr. has long said the cause may be common childhood vaccines such as the measles, mumps and rubella jab – a claim that the vast majority of scientists say is wrong.
RFK Jr. has also previously said that the rise must be due to something harmful in the environment.
Most medical bodies recommend paracetamol as one of the few pain relievers it is safe to take during pregnancy. And last year a large study found such use was not linked with a higher risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability.
Most scientists are sceptical of RFK Jr’s environmental theory of autism, however, what could be the real explanation?
In the UK, the rate of diagnosed cases of autism among children has increased by eight-fold over the past 20 years, according to a study of GP records. It is now thought that about one in 100 people are affected.
Autism once meant having severe deficits in language and social interactions. Those affected may have been unable to speak or look after themselves.
The shift has been driven by several changes in the way autism is defined that expanded the term to include people with milder symptoms.
In 2013, the next edition of the book removed that term and folded Asperger’s into autism spectrum disorder.
Professor Frances believes broadening the criteria meant some people are being misdiagnosed as autistic, and for them, the label isn’t always helpful.
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A UK study from 2007 found that the rate of autism was the same in older adults as in younger adults and in children – as long as the same diagnostic criteria are used for each age group. However, none of the adults had received an autism diagnosis before the study.
Reduced stigma around autism
Other possible contributors to the rising case numbers are the reduced stigma around the term. Many people at the milder end of the spectrum now don’t see autism as a disorder at all, instead seeing it as just a different way of interacting with the world, a form of neurodiversity.
“Greater understanding and research also means more medical professionals can recognise autism, whereas in the past particularly women and girls may have been misdiagnosed.”
Although it can take years to get the right help, a diagnosis can eventually lead to more support, such as extra exam time and the ability to take breaks from lessons.
square US POLITICS AnalysisRFK Jr is making his most unhinged intervention yet
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But it’s unclear how RFK Jr’s team could have uncovered new evidence about this in the past five months. “Kennedy’s coming along, as if nobody’s ever touched these subjects before,” she said. “It’s terribly annoying.”
But Professor Frances predicted that vaccines will yet again bear the brunt of the blame. “RFK Jr. is using the completely unproven pretext of environmental toxins to support his wildly wrong conspiracy theory about vaccines,” he told The i Paper. “This is madness.”
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