Preventing Autism?

  In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition.  Dozens of potential causes and correlates have been the subject of scientific and medical research.

Ariana Eunjung Cha at WP:

One peer-reviewed paper generating buzz in the autism research community published in December argues that a staggering number, more than half of autism cases, could be prevented with the right interventions. It proposes a “three-hit” theory suggesting that genetic susceptibility combined with environmental exposure and prolonged period of physiological stress contribute to autism.

Separately, two recent studies found that parents with the highest levels of an unusual sensitivity to everyday substances even at low levels, as measured by self-reported symptom patterns and validated questionnaires, were two times to 5.7 times more likely to report having a child with autism, prompting researchers to urge couples trying to conceive to minimize environmental exposures in their homes.\

...

In 2024, [Claudia] Miller and her colleagues published an analysis showing that in a group of nearly 8,000 U.S. adults, parents with chemical intolerance scores in the top 10th percentile were 5.7 times as likely to have a child with autism when compared with those in the bottom 10th percentile.

Those findings were replicated in a study published in January 2026 in the Journal of Xenobiotics, which examined children in five countries. In Italy, India and the United States, children born to parents with the highest levels of chemical intolerance had more than a twofold increased risk of autism; in Mexico, the risk was 1.9 times higher. No association was found in the Japanese data, though researchers suggested cultural differences in diagnosis and awareness may have influenced the results.

...

Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of Boston University’s Center for Autism Research Excellence and a founder of a coalition of autism scientists calling for more rigorous research, said there is little evidence that specific interventions during the preconception window could make a significant difference. She cautioned that focusing on this period is premature — and possibly harmful — given the current limits of the science. She pointed to the past, when both researchers and the public wrongly blamed so-called “refrigerator mothers” (who were cold or emotionally distant) and their parenting for autism.

“For decades now we’ve done too much as a society to make women feel the burden is on them,” she said.

She said the best advice for women considering pregnancy hasn’t changed for decades: take prenatal vitamins with folic acid, eat a healthy diet, stay fit, and avoid drugs, alcohol and smoking.

Trump Administration Tries to Downplay RFK's Antivax Policy

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

Amanda Chu at Politico:

A Trump administration official told POLITICO the White House wants Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist before joining forces with Trump, to lay off the shots. Surveys from Trump’s pollster, Tony Fabrizio, have found Kennedy’s moves to downsize the childhood vaccine schedule are unpopular.

...

The administration’s pivot arrives as Republicans worry the health secretary’s earlier moves to weaken the country’s vaccine policies will hurt them in the midterms. An October poll conducted by health policy think tank KFF and the Washington Post found the majority of MAHA parents still expressed confidence in childhood vaccine safety, while the vast majority of MAHA and non-MAHA parents agreed ultraprocessed foods were harmful.

...

White House officials granted anonymity to discuss strategy attributed the changed focus to the importance health care will play in the midterms and the desire to focus on issues that have broad appeal.

“I think we’re largely done with vaccines. I think the food stuff, we’re just beginning to kind of get into more,” the official said. “When you look at what’s keeping America unhealthy, it largely has to do with obesity and diabetes and heart disease and other very diet-driven and lifestyle-driven issues.”

The Trump administration may be done with vaccines, but measles isn't done with the Trump administration.  As of February 19, CDC reported 982 confirmed measles cases in the United States in 2026..  By next week, the total will top 1,000.  Soon, the US will lose measles elimination status.  And it is very possible that 2026 will be the worst year for measles in decades.

Voters will notice.

Purple Alerts Under Consideration in Washington State

The Politics of Autism discusses the problems of wandering and day-to-day safety.

From the Urbatsch Law Firm:

• Purple Alerts are a public notification system designed to help locate adults with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities who have gone missing. These individuals are not currently covered by existing alert systems, such as Amber Alerts or Silver Alerts.
• Addressing a critical gap in existing state alert systems, Purple Alerts ensure that intellectually disabled adults who are reported missing receive appropriate attention and that the public is aware of the specific circumstances.
• Currently, only five states (Florida, Maryland, Kansas, Mississippi, and Connecticut) have enacted Purple Alert systems.
• Purple Alerts can also inform law enforcement about the nature of a missing person’s disability. This can help enable a more appropriate and calm interaction when the person is located.

A week ago, KIRO-TV reported:

The Washington State Senate passed a bill that could make it easier to find missing people who are vulnerable adults or have disabilities.

The “Purple Alert,” also known as Senate Bill 6070, was passed unanimously on Thursday.

The alert could help to find missing people after a group of High School Seniors at Lake Washington High School advocated for the bill.

The bill will establish an alert system for people with disabilities and vulnerable adults.

Lawmakers hope the alert will help quickly find missing people.

It will be similar to alerts for older people who go missing.

The bill is headed to the state legislature’s House of Representatives.

From the Washington Autism Alliance: on Why SB 6070 Matters

• Clear standards for danger Families and law enforcement currently lack consistent guidance on when a missing person is truly endangered. SB 6070 clearly defines high-risk situations, including when someone has a developmental disability, dementia, serious mental health crisis, suicidal ideation, or other conditions that prevent safe self-care.
• Faster action when it counts The bill clarifies when courts may authorize rapid action to locate a missing endangered person, ensuring help is not delayed by uncertainty during life-threatening situations.
• Focus on the most vulnerable SB 6070 centers those at the greatest risk when missing, including minors, vulnerable adults, people with developmental disabilities, individuals experiencing acute mental health crises, and people with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.
• Strong guardrails and accountability This bill includes strict limits on how tools may be used, requires court approval or rapid post-use judicial review in emergencies, limits data collection to what is necessary, and requires deletion of non-relevant information. The focus remains on recovery and safety, not surveillance.

Maddie White at KING-TV:

The proposal was inspired by the disappearance of 21-year-old Jonathan Hoang, who has the mental capacity of a 9-year-old and vanished last March. His family believes foul play may be involved. “It’s very likely he was abducted,” said his sister, Irene Pfister.

For nearly a year, the Hoang family has lived without answers. “They told me and my parents, ‘It’s not a crime to go missing,’” said Pfister. She described the emotional toll of his disappearance, saying, “Just to wake up one morning and someone you love, they’re gone with no, no sign, no trace, and like, it’s like he’s disappeared off the face of the Earth.”

Although adults with autism who go missing in Washington are eligible for an Endangered Missing Persons Advisory, Hoang’s case highlights what his family sees as confusion around how and when those alerts are used. “I think there is this misunderstanding,” Pfister said, noting that autism “is a spectrum, and it’s called a spectrum for a reason.”

In Hoang’s case, an Endangered Missing Persons Advisory (EMPA) was issued on the fifth day after his disappearance. Pfister believes hesitation stemmed from uncertainty over her brother’s cognitive abilities. “Despite our family sharing that he wouldn’t be able to get home,” she said.

The sheriff's office said the EMPA "does not trigger a mass notification system" such as a cellphone push alert, as an Amber Alert does, and that highway signs are only used when a vehicle is involved, which wasn't applicable in Jonathan's case. Considering the limitations, the sheriff's office said they decided to first lean into other communication tools to alert the public.

CDC: 982 Measles Cases in 2026

  In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

From CDC:

As of February 19, 2026, 982 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 976 measles cases were reported by 26 jurisdictions: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York City, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. A total of 6 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.

There have been 7 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 89% of confirmed cases (870 of 982) are outbreak-associated (73 from outbreaks starting in 2026 and 797 from outbreaks that started in 2025).

There have been reports of measles exposure in the worst possible places:  international airports.  St. Louis, Philadelphia, and  LAX 

Congressional Republicans on Autism and Vaccines

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the congressional role in the issue.

 Ariel Cohen at Roll Call:

“If you stir the pot on theories that have been disproven … it creates anxiety and a lot of self-recrimination,” Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., said when asked about Kennedy’s interest in the link between vaccines and autism. “But it’s not true, and it delays finding out what is the reason [for autism].”

Cassidy, who cast a deciding vote on the Senate Finance Committee to confirm Kennedy, was asked if Kennedy has been receptive to his point of view on vaccines and autism in their conversations. To that, Cassidy shrugged and responded, “look at his actions.”

The issue is personal for Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, who co-led the reauthorization of a major autism research and programs funding bill in 2024. Her husband has a severely autistic son.

“I think it’s helpful to look further into research on the causes of autism. I did not think that it was helpful in any way to link it to vaccines, because the scientific evidence does not support such a link,” Collins said when asked about the administration’s focus.

...

Other Republicans are much more welcoming of the administration’s actions.

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., praised Kennedy’s approach to autism research, arguing Republicans and Democrats alike should be thanking the Trump administration because because it is focused on stemming the growing autism diagnosis rate.
...

Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J., has been involved in autism policy almost his entire career. Smith became interested in autism, especially profound autism, after hearing about the experiences of a family in his district. He recalled a time when the CDC spent less than $250,000 a year on autism research. With the passage of the 2024 autism legislation, spending has risen to $2 billion over a five-year span within multiple health agencies.

Smith, who says he supports vaccinations, praised removing thimerosal from vaccines and spreading out the childhood vaccination schedule, calling the administration’s focus “a breath of fresh air.”

“I mean, anyone who thinks there has not been a manifold spike in autism and say we’re just diagnosing it better, you know, I’ll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge,” he said. “If it turns out it’s not linked to getting vaccinations, OK. But the question should be asked.”

FDA Pulls Warning About Quack Autism "Cures"

In The Politics of Autism, I write:

The conventional wisdom is that any kind of treatment is likely to be less effective as the child gets older, so parents of autistic children usually believe that they are working against the clock. They will not be satisfied with the ambiguities surrounding ABA, nor will they want to wait for some future research finding that might slightly increase its effectiveness. They want results now. Because there are no scientifically-validated drugs for the core symptoms of autism, they look outside the boundaries of mainstream medicine and FDA approval. Studies have found that anywhere from 28 to 54 percent of autistic children receive “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM), and these numbers probably understate CAM usage.

A lot of people in RFK Jr's MAHA orbit are making a lot of money from supplements. 

Megan O’Matz at Pro Publica:

The warning on the government website was stark. Some products and remedies claiming to treat or cure autism are being marketed deceptively and can be harmful. Among them: chelating agents, hyperbaric oxygen therapies, chlorine dioxide and raw camel milk.

Now that advisory is gone.

The Food and Drug Administration pulled the page down late last year. The federal Department of Health and Human Services told ProPublica in a statement that it retired the webpage “during a routine clean up of dated content at the end of 2025,” noting the page had not been updated since 2019. (An archived version of the page is still available online.)

Some advocates for people with autism don’t understand that decision. “It may be an older page, but those warnings are still necessary,” said Zoe Gross, a director at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a nonprofit policy organization run by and for autistic people. “People are still being preyed on by these alternative treatments like chelation and chlorine dioxide. Those can both kill people.”

Chlorine dioxide is a chemical compound that has been used as an industrial disinfectant, a bleaching agent and an ingredient in mouthwash, though with the warning it shouldn’t be swallowed. A ProPublica story examined Sen. Ron Johnson’s endorsement of a new book by Dr. Pierre Kory, which describes the chemical as a “remarkable molecule” that, when diluted and ingested, “works to treat everything from cancer and malaria to autism and COVID.”

...

At his confirmation hearing, Kennedy praised Trump for his wide search for a COVID-19 remedy in his first term, which Kennedy said included vaccines, various drugs and “even chlorine dioxide.”

The FDA, dating back to at least 2010, has urged consumers not to purchase or drink chlorine dioxide, frequently marketed as a Miracle Mineral Solution, because “the solution, when mixed, develops into a dangerous bleach which has caused serious and potentially life-threatening side effects.”

The BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal) has previously reported on the removal of the FDA warnings page. The lack of a warning has also received attention in the Telegram channel Chlorine Dioxide Testimonies.

Kennedy and Vaccines

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

The  US has had at least 910 cases this year.  In 2016, there were only 86 cases all year long. Measles is not just a rash.  In some cases,i t can kill quickly -- or it can linger for years and then kill.

During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy made promises about vaccines. He has broken them.

Rebecca Robbins at NYT:

In Massachusetts, Moderna is pulling back on vaccine studies. In Texas, a small company canceled plans to build a factory that would have created new jobs manufacturing a technology used in vaccines. In San Diego, another manufacturing company laid off workers.

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was picked in November 2024 to become the next health secretary, public health experts worried that the longtime vaccine skeptic would wreak havoc on the fragile business of vaccine development.

Those fears are beginning to come true, according to executives and investors involved with companies that develop and sell vaccines and the technology that is best known for the Covid vaccines.

At conferences and in interviews, they described the emerging consequences of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the longstanding federal support for vaccines.

“There will be less invention, investment and innovation in vaccines generally, across all the companies,” Dr. Stephen Hoge, the president of Moderna, said in an interview.

The Trump administration said it was not discouraging innovation.

But investors have grown hesitant to bet on a field that has fallen out of favor in Washington. Major manufacturers are reporting declining sales of their shots. Smaller companies are taking the brunt of the impact, with some stocks whipsawing in response to the changes.

Autistic Job Candidates in Academia

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the employment of people on the autism spectrum.

Gabriel Proulx at Inside Higher Ed:

In general, autistic candidates are disadvantaged by standard interview formats, which, as Christopher E. Whelpley and Cynthia P. May write, tend to “focus on interview skills, appearance, and social interactions rather than on the skills needed for a given position.” Since autistic people’s social abilities and conversational patterns do not align with neurotypical criteria, they can seem rude or uninterested during conversations even when they are focused and engaged. Socialization can be extremely difficult for autistic people, from finding the right way to express their ideas to understanding when it is their turn to speak.

...

Sandra C. Jones notes that autistic academics often struggle with the hidden social demands of professional life: “Understanding and following social rules, interpreting others’ actions and reactions, masking autistic behaviors, and combining ‘professional’ and ‘personal’ interactions are effortful activities for many autistic people.” In hiring contexts, where competition is fierce, these challenges become magnified.

...

Academic interviews almost always include open-ended questions with little to no structure, such as “Tell us about yourself,” “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” or “What can you bring to our department?” Neurotypical candidates usually know how to use these questions as a chance to sell themselves; as Katie Maras, et al. write, “Autistic candidates, however, find it difficult to interpret these sorts of questions, hindering their ability to formulate and recall a relevant and appropriately detailed response that conveys their best attributes and most relevant experience.”

Profound Autism 2026

 In The Politics of Autism, I write:

The most basic questions trigger angry arguments. For instance, into what category do we put autism in the first place? In 2013, President Obama said that “we’re still unable to cure diseases like Alzheimer's or autism or fully reverse the effects of a stroke.” The language of “disease” and “cure” offends some in the autism community. “We don’t view autism as a disease to be cured and we don’t think we need fixing,” says Ari Ne’eman of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network. “We do feel comfortable with the word disability because we understand what it means.” From this perspective, autism is difference that requires accommodation, not an illness that requires eradication. Adherents of this position liken autism to homosexuality, which psychiatrists once deemed to be a  disorder. Conversely, some parents take offense at opposition to a cure. “Anyone with the mental and verbal ability to challenge autism research is not autistic on a scale that I care to recognize,” writes autism parent James Terminello. “Opposition to finding a cure is particularly hurtful to parents who still mourn the loss of the child that could have been. A line has been crossed.”

Laura Ungar at AP:

There’s now a growing push to separate profound autism — in which people need constant care for life, have a certain level of intellectual disability and are nonspeaking or minimally verbal — into its own diagnosis. The hope is that it would help ensure that people like Connor and Ronan get the support and services they need and that research includes them.

In the United States, an estimated 1 in 31 children have autism spectrum disorder. Researchers estimate around a quarter have “profound autism,” a term introduced in 2021 by a group of experts, the Lancet Commission, to describe people most disabled by the developmental condition.

But some in the autism community worry that creating a separate diagnosis would reduce attention on the broader spectrum and the individual needs of everyone on it.

Andy Shih, chief science officer for Autism Speaks, said no matter where people fall on the debate, “there’s absolutely no doubt that we need to elevate awareness about the needs of this group.”

...

Judith Ursitti, president of the Profound Autism Alliance, is among those who now want profound autism separated out. People in this category lack appropriate treatments, supports and enough providers trained to handle their level of care, she said. And the vast majority of clinical research doesn’t include them.

“If you don’t have research, you won’t have treatments. You won’t have achievable services and supports,” said Ursitti, whose adult son has profound autism. “There are people across the spectrum who have high support needs that are intermittent. The difference with our population is they’re constant.”

But Dena Gassner of Drexel University’s autism institute -- an autistic senior research scientist and mother of an autistic adult with moderate support needs -- said she struggles with the idea of assigning someone the label of profound autism. She said it could be stigmatizing.

She said there’s nothing wrong with being autistic; the problem lies in “the massive lack of supports and services” in our society. “We need to come together in a unified voice to talk about services for the entirety of the spectrum.”

Measles, Vaccine Mandates, and Elections

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

The  US has had at least 910 cases this year.  In 2016, there were only 86 cases all year long. Measles is not just a rash.  In some cases,i t can kill quickly -- or it can linger for years and then kill.

Christina Jewett at NYT:

Longtime allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, have launched a new effort to repeal laws that for decades have required children to be vaccinated against measles, polio and other diseases before they enter day care or kindergarten.

A newly formed coalition of vaccine activists is targeting laws that are considered the linchpin of protection from deadly diseases. States have long mandated childhood immunizations before children can start day care or school, though some exemptions are available.

“What we need to do is freaking burst the dam open,” Leslie Manookian, the backer of a law that banned medical mandates in Idaho, told supporters on a recent call. “And that is what this year is all about, bursting the dam open in the states where we think it can happen first.”

Ms. Manookian is a leader of the Medical Freedom Act Coalition, a new umbrella group of at least 15 nonprofit organizations advocating an end to state laws that codify what they call medical mandates, which largely pertain to vaccines.

So far, bills have been introduced in at least nine states that would eliminate all or nearly all school requirements, including Democratic states like New York where there is no chance of passage, to states such as New Hampshire, Georgia, Iowa and Idaho where the proposals have gained some traction.

...

Yet one potent guardrail against weakening immunization mandates has emerged. A number of polls show that voters would penalize lawmakers who favor eliminating school requirements. In one recent poll, conducted by The Wall Street Journal, voters gave Democrats a 9 percent advantage over Republicans when asked which party is best suited to handle vaccine policy.

Two polls commissioned by vaccine backers and conducted by Republican-leaning firms found that voters in Florida and Tennessee would not support lawmakers who want to end school-vaccine mandates. One poll by Fabrizio Ward, a firm that President Trump relies on, found that swing voters in tight congressional races would strip about 20 percentage points from a Republican candidate who was critical of vaccines.

Measles in Mid-February: 910 Cases This Year

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

From CDC:

As of February 12, 2026, 910 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 904 measles cases were reported by 24 jurisdictions: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York City, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. A total of 6 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.

There have been 5 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 90% of confirmed cases (822 of 910) are outbreak-associated (62 from outbreaks in 2026 and 760 from outbreaks that started in 2025).

In 2016, there were only 86 cases all year long. 

Measles can kill quickly -- or it can linger for years and then kill.

Elizabeth Bruenig at The Atlantic:

You will not think of his measles infection when he begins suffering muscle spasms in his arms and hands, nor when his pediatrician recommends that you see a neurologist. You realize you have entered a new nightmare when nurses affix metal electrodes to your son’s scalp with a cold conductive paste to perform an electroencephalogram to measure his brain waves. As the neurologist examines the results, she will note the presence of Radermecker complexes: periodic spikes in electrical activity that correlate with the muscle spasms that have become disruptive. She will order a test of his cerebrospinal fluid to confirm what she suspects: The measles never really left your son. Instead, the virus mutated and spread through the synapses between his brain cells, steadily damaging brain tissue long after he seemed to recover.

You will be sitting down in an exam room when the neurologist delivers the diagnosis of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a rare measles complication that leads to irreversible degeneration of the brain. There are treatments but no cure, the neurologist will tell you. She tells you that your son will continue to lose brain function as time passes, resulting in seizures, severe dementia, and, in a matter of two or three years, death. You look at your son, the glasses you picked out with him, the haircut he chose from the wall at the barbershop, the beating heart you gave him. You imagine your husband’s face when you break the news, the talks you will have with your daughter, your mother, your in-laws—though there is no way to prepare for what is coming. And you know that you, too, will never recover.

No Link Between COVID Vaccine and Autism

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

Liz Szabo at CIDRAP

A study today finds no increase in autism rates in babies born to mothers who received COVID-19 vaccines just before or during pregnancy, compared with children of unvaccinated moms.

The authors of the study, who presented their findings at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine 2026 Pregnancy Meeting, told CIDRAP News they hope the research will help dispel myths about COVID-19 vaccines, which multiple studies have found to be safe and effective during pregnancy.

Half of the 434 children in the study, conducted at 14 medical facilities from May 2024 to March 2025, were born to mothers who received at least one dose of an mRNA vaccine during or within 30 days before pregnancy. The other half of the children in the study were born to mothers who weren’t vaccinated before or during pregnancy.

Researchers evaluated toddlers between the ages of 18 months and 30 months for signs of autism using four standard screenings: the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Version 3 (ASQ-3), the Child Behavior Checklist, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, and the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. None of these measures are used to make a definitive diagnosis of autism, but they can indicate a need for further testing.

When the researchers compared the scores on all four screening assessments, they found no significant differences between the children born to vaccinated mothers and those born to unvaccinated mothers.

“The fact that there were no differences on all four of these outcomes is evidence that COVID vaccination does not result in developmental concerns for most children,” said Alycia Halladay, PhD, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation, who was not involved in the new study. “For people who are worried that taking the COVID vaccine during pregnancy may cause autism, the study is pretty clear, convincing evidence that it does not.”

The authors of the study said its results are reassuring.

“We found no evidence in our study or in other studies that [the COVID] vaccine causes harm to the children,” said George R. Saade, MD, the new study’s first author and professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University.

Study: Prevalence Increase May Reflect Improved Identification

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the uncertainty surrounding estimates of autism prevalence. 

Furnier SM, Gangnon R, Durkin MS. Trends Over Time in the Prevalence of Autism by Adaptive and Intellectual Functioning Levels. Autism Res. 2026 Jan;19(1):e70167. doi: 10.1002/aur.70167. Epub 2025 Dec 28. PMID: 41457676; PMCID: PMC12853238. Abstract:

The autistic community is a large, growing, and heterogeneous population, and there is a need for improved methods to describe their diverse needs. Measures of adaptive functioning collected through public health surveillance may provide valuable information on functioning and support needs at a population level. We aimed to use adaptive behavior and cognitive scores abstracted from health and educational records to describe trends over time in the population prevalence of autism by adaptive level and co- occurrence of intellectual disability (ID). Using data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, years 2000 to 2016, we estimated the prevalence of autism per 1000 8- year- old children by four levels of adaptive challenges (moderate to profound, mild, borderline, or none) and by co- occurrence of ID. The prevalence of autism with mild, borderline, or no significant adaptive challenges increased between 2000 and 2016, from 5.1 per 1000 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.6–5.5) to 17.6 (95% CI: 17.1–18.1) while the prevalence of autism with moderate to profound challenges decreased slightly, from 1.5 (95% CI: 1.2–1.7) to 1.2 (95% CI: 1.1–1.4). The prevalence increase was greater for autism without co- occurring ID than for autism with co- occurring ID. The increase in autism prevalence between 2000 and 2016 was confined to autism with milder phenotypes. This trend could indicate improved identification of milder forms of autism over time. It is possible that increased access to therapies that improve intellectual and adaptive functioning of children diagnosed with autism also contributed to the trends