President-elect Donald Trump said on Dec. 8 that he will give Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the freedom to investigate the potential link between vaccines and autism if the latter gains Senate confirmation to become Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Kennedy has said for years that autism is likely tied to childhood vaccines.
He was nominated to serve as HHS secretary by Trump last month and has promised sweeping changes to agencies under the HHS, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The NIH supports and funds research into autism, as well as potential new vaccines.
Kennedy told The Epoch Times in September that he would revamp the NIH to focus on the causes of autism, autoimmune diseases, and neurodevelopment diseases instead of developing drugs and serving as an incubator for pharmaceutical products.
In the Dec. 8 interview with Meet The Press, Trump noted that autism cases have increased in recent decades. When asked if Kennedy would explore the issue, Trump said he is “open to anything.”
“When you look at some of the problems, when you look at what’s going on with disease and sickness in our country, something’s wrong,” Trump said.
“I think somebody has to find out. If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it.”
Before it was called autism, the condition was known by many different names, including:
Childhood schizophrenia: A common diagnosis for autistic children in the early 20th century
Dementia infantilis: An early term for autism
Sociopathy: Another early term for autism
Early infantile autism: A term used by Leo Kanner in 1943 to describe a condition in children
Infantile psychosis: Another term for autism
Schizophrenic reaction of childhood: Another term for autism
Idiocy: A term used by French physician Jean-Etienne Dominique Esquirol in 1801 to describe a condition that included symptoms like social withdrawal and lack of speech
What is the old word for autism?
Autistic people often will have strong fixations on certain topics or objects. In 1877, British doctor John Down used the term developmental retardation to describe conditions including what would be considered autism today.
Why is autism so common now?
Increased awareness and better access to screening have contributed to the rise in reported cases. Ongoing research continues to explore the role of genetics, environmental factors, and maternal stress in the development of autism.Jul 24, 2024
What is high functioning autism called now?
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Starting in the 1990s, milder forms were recognized, including Asperger’s syndrome (now called high-functioning autism).Jul 4, 2023.