The CDC's latest Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network report reveals autism spectrum disorder prevalence has risen to 1 in 31 children (3.2%), a 22% increase since 2020 and a staggering 375% increase since monitoring began in 2000.
MAHA ANGLE: Secretary Kennedy has identified the autism epidemic as a top priority. 'In my generation, the rate of autism was 1 in 10,000,' Kennedy noted at the announcement. 'We are assembling teams of world-class scientists to focus research on the origins of the epidemic, and we expect to begin to have answers by September.'
The report shows a significant demographic shift - for the first time, autism is more prevalent among minority children than white children. Rates were highest among Asian and Pacific Islander (38.2 per 1,000), American Indian and Alaska Native (37.5), Black (36.6), and Hispanic (33.0) populations.
'No real effort is made to try to identify the environmental triggers or risk factors that are involved in the true escalation of autism prevalence,' said Rutgers researcher Walter Zahorodny.
What you can do: Demand your representatives fund research into environmental causes of autism, not just genetic studies.