Shrinking our way to excellence on autism

Back in the 1960s, it was believed that autism was caused by “refrigerator moms,” moms who were cold and aloof and thus drove their otherwise normal children into a lifetime of autism.

Nobody believes the refrigerator mom environment anymore. Research has shown that autism has a heritability of 60-80%. So while there may be environmental inputs, the dominant input is genetic.

“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has vowed to address rising U.S. autism rates as a top health priority for the Trump administration.

 

“Last month, he pledged $50 million to help identify environmental causes of autism, to be issued as grants by the National Institutes of Health and has announced plans to create a national “autism registry.” 

 

“Yet during the first four months of 2025, the NIH has reduced funding for autism-related research by an estimated $31 million to $116 million from $147 million in the same period in 2024, according to a Reuters analysis of NIH data. The spending is 26% lower than the prior four-year average for that period, the analysis found.”

So let me see if I’m following this: RFK Jr. wants to create a new database (autism registry) but he is cutting research that might use this database by 26%. Does he think the research using this database will be done for free now? Or does he believe we do research by starting with the conclusion (environmental cause) and research ways to confirm that pre-ordained conclusion?

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trump-administration-cut-autism-related-research-by-26-so-far-2025-2025-05-16/

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