RFK Jr. isn't interested in finding cause of autism [View all]

By Lisa Jarvis / Bloomberg Opinion

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vow to uncover the cause of autism by September is ludicrous. There are no fast and easy answers in science, especially when it comes to complex neurodevelopmental conditions.

Moreover, Kennedy’s history of bending science to match his pet theories suggests any “answers” he finds may do more harm than good. And the biggest concern is that this initiative is a ruse to push his anti-vaccine agenda.

Normally, I’d embrace fresh attention to a condition affecting so many children and their families. But Kennedy is walking into the project, which he claims will involve hundreds of researchers around the world, with a stubborn misunderstanding of the disorder and how to address it.

That starts with his alarmist framing of autism as a rapidly growing epidemic that is uniquely threatening to American children; a shift he believes is driven by some change in their environment.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-rfk-jr-isnt-interested-in-finding-cause-of-autism/