"Mel Merritt, head of Policy and campaigns at NAS, said the continuously false claims that RFK Jr and the Trump administration have pushed on autism could "put lives at risk." "This incessant focus on pseudo-scientific causes of autism means autistic people are forced to listen to the suggestion that they need to be cured, as though it's not okay to be autistic and someone should be 'blamed'," Merritt continued. "This is wrong and dangerous."
""These myths are a distraction from the real, urgent issues autistic people face," Merritt continued. "In England, waiting lists for autism diagnosis are growing, with average waits of over 17 months. "The special educational needs system in schools is crumbling because of insufficient funding and only three in 10 autistic people are in work, one of the lowest of any disability.""
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that circumcision doubles autism rates during a US cabinet meeting, a claim that is not proven. One 2015 Danish cohort study found an association but did not establish causation. He also asserted that painkillers like Tylenol can cause autism in young children, a claim not supported by current scientific consensus. The National Autistic Society condemned these assertions as lacking rigorous research. Mel Merritt warned that such false claims can put lives at risk, force autistic people to feel blamed, scare individuals into hiding, and distract from urgent issues including long diagnostic waits, underfunded special educational needs, and low employment rates.
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