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Autism Community in Washington Responds to National Rhetoric
Recent public comments by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have raised concern among autistic individuals, families, researchers, and clinicians in Washington. Kennedy has described autism as an “epidemic,” claimed it is preventable, and linked rising diagnoses to environmental factors such as mold and food additives—positions not supported by scientific consensus.
As the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) convened in Seattle, many expressed concerns about how these statements could affect public understanding and disrupt years of work in autism research and care.
Dr. Annette Estes, a child clinical psychologist and director of the University of Washington Autism Center, noted that the effects are already being felt. Families are showing new hesitations about participating in studies and sharing health information. “It’s having a chilling effect immediately,” she said. “Families being concerned in ways they’ve never been concerned before about signing up for research and about the privacy of their medical data.”
Dr. Sara Jane Webb, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington and Director of the Clinical Translational Core at the UW IHDD’s IDDRC voiced concern about the broader impact of recent developments. She highlighted how decades of collaborative scientific progress are at risk of being undermined.
She emphasized that the erosion of this progress could have serious consequences for autistic individuals and their families. “The work that has been done over the last 30 years is eroding,” she stated. “That is going to again make it harder for autistic individuals and families of autistic individuals to get the care they need, because the community around them is not going to know who to trust or what to believe.”
Efforts remain focused on protecting research, strengthening services, and ensuring that autistic people and their families are supported.
Read the full article in The Seattle Times.
