At a well-attended press event in September, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a "bold" new initiative to identify the causes and treatments for autism. Citing research suggesting a possible link between taking acetaminophen during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), the initiative included the National Institutes of Health spending $50 million more on research into acetaminophen and other possible environmental causes of what Kennedy called an "epidemic" of autism.
Set aside the fact that the so-called epidemic of autism does not result from a surge in actual cases but from a broadening of the diagnosis over the past 50 years—from what psychiatrists in the 1970s called a form of childhood schizophrenia, marked by early social withdrawal, impaired language, and rigid, repetitive behaviors, to today's ASD. This new understanding includes highly capable, sometimes gifted individuals who simply interact with others in unusual or atypical ways. Additionally, because social, educational, and health care services are now more accessible to children with ASD, increased parental awareness and more screening by pediatricians, school psychologists, and educators have led to greater detection.
