"Almost an Insult"

 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.

Jay Stahl at USA Today:

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, who has repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump's administration over health issues, slammed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over a website related to autism and vaccines.

The gastroenterologist during a July 26 interview on CNN's "State of the Union" called out the health authority for saying online that it's "not an evidence-based claim" that vaccines don't cause autism.

...

On "State of the Union," Cassidy told [Dana] Bash that it has been scientifically proven that vaccines don't cause autism over decades. "The fact that that is still there is almost an insult to the American people," Cassidy said. "We don't care enough about you to tell the truth. We want to continue to promote that which has been proven false, but we don't want to admit it, whoever we is."

Many public health groups and physicians across the country have also denounced language on the CDC website about vaccines and autism spectrum disorder, despite decades of evidence showing approved immunizations are safe.

BASH: The CDC's website on vaccines has been a sticking point for you. When you pledged to support Dr. Schwartz, you said publicly it's a sign of good faith that the CDC agreed to modify their website. But at the very top of the CDC's vaccine page, it still says 'the claim… pic.twitter.com/xGbxGgKhz6

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 26, 2026

Autism, Vulnerability, and Criminal Justice

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss interactions between the justice system and autistic people.

Walter Pavlo at Forbes:

Doug Passon, one of the nation's leading attorneys representing autistic defendants, believes the defining characteristic of autism in the legal system is vulnerability.

"Nothing makes sense in autism cases except in the light of vulnerability," Passon explains.

That vulnerability exists throughout the criminal process. Autistic individuals may be vulnerable to wrongful accusations, to unwittingly violating the law because they misunderstand the social, moral, or legal implications of their conduct, and to being profoundly misunderstood by investigators, prosecutors, judges, and juries. Behaviors associated with autism, such as rigid thinking, unusual eye contact, or difficulty expressing emotion, are often mistaken for arrogance, deceit, manipulation, or a lack of remorse.

Passon argues that the legal profession itself remains challenged in representing clients with autism because the disorder is still poorly understood. "Most of us still do not understand what autism is and why it matters to every stage of the criminal proceeding," he says. "That has to change."
...

Most people on the autism spectrum never commit crimes. The same is true for people living with depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and countless other conditions. Autism is not an excuse for criminal conduct, nor should it be treated as one.

The challenge is ensuring that accountability is informed by an accurate understanding of disability.

Passon offers an analogy that captures the issue powerfully. Holding an autistic individual to the same social expectations as someone without autism, while ignoring the disability itself, is "akin to punishing a blind student because he didn't complete an assignment that the teacher wrote on the chalkboard."

Justice requires equal treatment under the law. But equal treatment does not always mean identical treatment. Courts routinely accommodate physical disabilities because fairness sometimes requires recognizing genuine limitations. Neurodevelopmental disabilities deserve the same thoughtful consideration.

When courts misunderstand autism, they risk confusing impaired social reasoning with criminal intent, neurological rigidity with defiance, and disability with moral indifference.

Measles, Continued

 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.

Since President Trump took office in 2025, the U.S. has recorded more confirmed measles cases than in the previous 20 years combined. 

Margaret Manto at NOTUS:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s webpage about vaccines and autism was revised this week as an olive branch to Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who now says he supports President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency.

The page, however, still references a recently retracted study linking vaccines and autism.

The CDC changed its webpage on vaccines and autism with a new statement making clear that scientists “have not identified the root causes” of autism — a change Cassidy, who has been critical of Robert F. Kennedy’s Jr. anti-vaccine sentiments, called an act of “good faith,” The New York Times first reported.

Until that change, Cassidy was a significant holdout on the committee’s vote on Erica Schwartz, the nominee for CDC director.

But the recent changes to the site did not include removing a reference to a 2010 study on the hepatitis B vaccine and autism rates in boys, despite its publication retracting the study in May. That study found that boys vaccinated with the hepatitis B vaccine had a significantly higher chance of being diagnosed with autism. An independent statistical reviewer found its conclusions were unsound.

And the CDC site still makes these misleading claims:

• The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.
• Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.

 

BASH: The CDC's website on vaccines has been a sticking point for you. When you pledged to support Dr. Schwartz, you said publicly it's a sign of good faith that the CDC agreed to modify their website. But at the very top of the CDC's vaccine page, it still says 'the claim… pic.twitter.com/xGbxGgKhz6

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 26, 2026

Grim Measles Milestone

 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.

It is only July, and we have reached the greatest number of annual cases in 35 years. 

From CDC:

As of July 23, 2026, 2,318 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 2,302 measles cases were reported by 45 jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A total of 16 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.

There have been 35 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 93% of confirmed cases (2,153 of 2,318) are outbreak-associated (782 from outbreaks starting in 2026 and 1,371 from outbreaks that started in 2025).

For the full year of 2025, a total of 2,289 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States.

Rong-Gong Lin II at LAT:

Measles cases have doubled in California so far this year compared to last year — and 2026 is barely half over.

California has confirmed 52 measles cases in the first 6½ months of the year; that’s more than double the 25 cases reported in all of 2025.

If this pace continues, the number of cases will be the highest since 2015, when there were 125 cases in the state and a portion of them were related to a large outbreak at Disneyland.

Of this year’s 52 cases, 49 patients were either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination record. Four have had to be hospitalized. Many cases involve children or young adults — 27 cases involved those ages 5 to 19, and 15 cases involved children under 5 years old, according to the California Department of Public Health. L.A. County has tallied seven cases so far this year among its residents; Orange County has counted four cases.

IACC Extends Comment Period

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee and research priorities.

Ella Ruder at Becker's Behavioral Health:

The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee has extended the public comment period for its working draft of the 2026–2028 IACC Strategic Plan to 30 days after autism advocacy organizations and other stakeholders requested additional time to review the proposal.

The committee said the extension responds to outreach from autism organizations and other stakeholders seeking more time to review and engage with the draft. According to Sylvia Fogel, MD, IACC chair, a 90-day review period requested by some advocates could “delay the committee’s timely fulfillment of its responsibilities under the Autism CARES Act of 2024.” Comments should be submitted by Aug. 20 at 5 p.m. ET.

An IACC meeting currently scheduled for July 31 is expected to be rescheduled, with a new date and other details to be announced.

Before the extension was granted, several national autism advocacy organizations issued a joint statement criticizing the original public comment process, saying the review period was too short for a document exceeding 300 pages and urging HHS and the IACC to allow additional time for meaningful public input.

IACC Comment Period

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee and research priorities.

From the Profound Autism Alliance:

This week, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), the federal committee that shapes national autism research and policy priorities, released a 336-page draft Strategic Plan for 2026–2028. Public comment closes this Friday, July 24 at 5 PM ET. The plan itself names an important reality: "when support is delayed or difficult to access, the burden doesn't disappear, it shifts to the family." A four-day window on a 336-page document places that same weight on caregivers who are already carrying a full load. We're asking the IACC to extend the comment period by 90 days. This would provide an opportunity for caregivers, self-advocates, and professionals to read this fully and respond with the care it deserves. Here's how you can help: Submit a public comment requesting that the public comment on the strategic plan be extended to 90 days. This is a reasonable amount of time and reflects the realities of caregivers of people with profound autism who deserve an opportunity to engage. Adding a line or two about your personal experiences as a caregiver if applicable would make this request even more compelling. The IACC requests the public comment be emailed to IACCPublicInquiries@mail.nih.gov. Please forward this to others, asking them to send a quick email too. The more voices weighing in on this, the better. Thank you for taking time to take action.

Find The Draft Here

Email The IACC Here

Inclusion Increases

 In The Politics of Autism, I write about social services, special education, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 

Government Accountability Office, Special Education: More Students with Disabilities Were Educated in General Education Settings, but State Trends Varied Widely. GAO-26-107814 Published: Jul 02, 2026.

Under federal special education law, students with disabilities are to be educated alongside their peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. Nationally, the number of students with disabilities in the general education classroom (gen ed) for at least 40 percent of their day increased 25 percent from school year 2012–13 through school year 2023–24 (see figure). The largest increase came from students with disabilities in gen ed for at least 80 percent of their day. The total number of students with disabilities increased 21 percent during this period. GAO also found the share of students with disabilities in gen ed for much of their day increased in 42 of 50 states and the District of Columbia (no data were available for New Mexico for school year 2023–24). However, within states, changes over this period varied widely. For example, the District of Columbia had the largest increase (7.7 percentage points), while in North Dakota the share of students with disabilities in gen ed for at least 40 percent of their day decreased by 3.2 percentage points.

Senator Darline Graham

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

Sara Luterman at The 19th:

Unlike her late brother Lindsey, whose political career spanned 33 years, Darline Graham has never run for or held elected office — until she was appointed to serve the remainder of the U.S. senator’s term this week. Instead, she has worked in vocational rehabilitation, publicly funded programs that help people with disabilities overcome barriers to employment.

Due to her lack of political experience, it is difficult to know what her priorities will be between now and January 2027, when Lindsey Graham’s term ends. But to former colleagues and the disability advocates who have worked with her, there is little doubt in Darline Graham’s capabilities. They describe the 62-year-old as a dedicated civil servant who is uninterested in the spotlight and deeply knowledgeable about issues facing the disability community. And they are optimistic she will bring that experience to Capitol Hill.

Terry Collins; Bella Carpentier, and Thao Nguyen at USA TODAY:

She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from the College of Charleston, a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling and holds certification as a public manager, according to a biography provided to The Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network.

For nearly seven years, she has served as a commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, where she focused on helping blind and low-vision people achieve employment, independence and economic self-sufficiency, the biography states.

Graham Nordone began her career as a certified optician, working directly with people on eye-care needs before moving into state government. She later held positions at Clemson University and with the state employment department before joining the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department.

During 12 years with the Vocational Rehabilitation Department, Graham Nordone served as the business services director and communications director, according to the biography. She currently serves on the South Carolina State Workforce Development Board and is president-elect of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind.

Autism, Drowning, and the Need for Swim Lessons

The Politics of Autism discusses the dangers facing autistic people, including wandering and drowning.

Tana Carson and Tania Santiago Perez at The Conversation:

Many autistic children tend to wander, which can lead them away from safe, supervised areas into unprotected, unsupervised settings – and potentially toward hazards like open water. This puts these children at increased risk for drowning, particularly if they do not know how to swim.

Swimming lessons can help reduce drowning risk, but changes to traditional classes may be required in order to meet the unique needs of autistic learners.

Autistic children communicate in a wide variety of ways, ranging from nonspeaking to highly talkative. The environment of a busy pool may trigger sensory overload and distress, causing children to cry or want to leave. Overload can also lead to difficulty following instructors’ directions. They may need extra time and assistance for emotional regulation, or need encouragement and motivation to stay engaged. Some may not want to be touched and prefer visual examples for learning new skills in the water.

For the average swim instructor, who may be teaching up to 10 children at a time and may not have training in supporting autistic children, figuring out how to meet individual needs can be a challenge.

Adaptive swim lessons, which are provided by instructors experienced at meeting autistic children’s unique learning and behavior needs, may better set them up for success. These lessons tend to have fewer participants, or even offer one-on-one instruction, allowing for plenty of individual attention. The instructor may use tools and strategies such as play-based approaches, visual schedules, sensory strategies or a consistent routine to help the child feel comfortable and successful.

State Policies on Private Equity and Autism Treatment

 The Politics of Autism includes an extensive discussion of autism service providers.  Private equity firms now own many of them.   Insurance mandates and Medicaid spending have contributed to the growth trend.

Ryan Leitner at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project:

States may want to consider policies that help address some of the specific concerns surrounding private equity ownership of ABA providers. A May 2026 article in Health Affairs both describes those specific issues and proposes regulations that could help improve oversight of ABA services and private equity’s role.

Yashaswini Singh, Corrie Mook, Jared Perkins, Nathan Hostert, and Daniel R. Arnold, the authors of the Health Affairs article,noted that, in general, private equity investment “alters workforce composition and clinician turnover,” and that the rapid growth of private equity-owned ABA services can lead to higher costs and limit access to care. The authors found that in Colorado, “PE-backed centers accounted for half of the increase in billable hours in 2024, prompting concerns over unnecessarily intense treatments that lack clinical benefit.”

To allow for greater oversight of private equity-backed ABA providers, the authors recommend:

• Generating higher quality Medicaid data with more details, including state identifiers;
• Requiring ownership transparency for provider organizations; and
• Enforcing existing anti-kickback statutes, including to investor-backed management companies.

The authors also suggest that policymakers engage with patient advocacy groups and community organizations to provide insight into how to refine reforms more quickly to avoid unintended consequences.

Measles Cases

 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 July 16, 2026, 2,260 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 2,245 measles cases were reported by 44 jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A total of 15 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.

There have been 34 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 93% of confirmed cases (2,108 of 2,260) are outbreak-associated (741 from outbreaks starting in 2026 and 1,367 from outbreaks that started in 2025).

In just a week or two, we are very likely to top last year's total of 2,289, for the greatest number of annual cases in 35 years. 

At MedPage Today, Terrence Rudd reports:

[S]tudies on South Carolina and Utah's large outbreaks showed cases of encephalitis and sepsis among the hospitalized patients.

In both states, hypoxemia and pneumonia were the most common conditions leading to hospitalization for measles, with some admissions driven by electrolyte abnormalities, sepsis, and shock.

Two of 13 patients hospitalized in South Carolina developed measles encephalitis, which led to prolonged hospitalization for both and discharge to an inpatient rehabilitation facility for one patient, according to Katherine Richardson, MD, and colleagues from Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital in South Carolina, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine.

RFK Jr. v. Public Health

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.

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Dan Levine and Bo Erickson at Reuters:

Early this year, Kennedy went to his director of the NIH, Jay Bhattacharya, with a costly proposal, according to two officials familiar with the request: The research agency should spend $5 billion studying the link between vaccines and autism. That would have dedicated more than a tenth of the NIH’s annual budget to investigating a hypothesis already refuted by scientists worldwide.

Kennedy ultimately dropped the plan, which likely would have required congressional approval, after Bhattacharya convinced him the agency had dedicated enough resources to researching autism's causes, including a $50 million effort launched in September, the officials said.

...

The health secretary has rejected studies involving millions of people over the past two decades which have concluded there is no credible link. Leading medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Medical Association say Kennedy’s refusal to accept such findings both increases vaccine hesitancy and devalues more evidence-based efforts to help families struggling with autism.

In November, Kennedy ordered the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be updated to say the claim that vaccines do not cause autism is "not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” For years previously, it had said that “studies have shown there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism,” citing a 2012 National Academy of Medicine review of scientific papers and a 2013 CDC study.

The CDC didn’t respond to a request for comment for this article.

The health secretary has tasked Stefanie Spear, his closest adviser, with leading his department's efforts to unearth any evidence of a link, including launching a series of studies into vaccine-related injuries. The pair go back many years, having partnered together on an environmental website called EcoWatch in 2011. Spear then joined Kennedy at Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine organization he founded, in 2020, and served as press secretary during his 2024 presidential campaign. Kennedy, Children's Health Defense, and others have sued several news outlets, including Reuters, alleging the media organizations colluded to exclude and censor them because of their posts on COVID- and vaccine-related topics. A motion to dismiss the lawsuit is pending in D.C. federal court.

Spear has no scientific or public health background, according to her bio. Before joining Kennedy at Children’s Health Defense, she was a longtime environmental activist and communications professional.

In HHS leadership meetings, Spear often speaks for Kennedy even when he is present, three people familiar with the matter said. Kennedy has told his top officials to seek Spear's approval for their new initiatives, three people said. In staff meetings, Kennedy has directed officials to “run everything” through Spear, according to two people who have heard the directive.

Victims of the Fraud Crackdown

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families.   Scams plague the world of autism. Some involve shady or abusive providers.

The Minnesota investigations started under the Biden administration.  

Amanda Chu and Robert King at POLITICO:

A series of high-profile scandals made Minnesota the center of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration and alleged fraud in Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income individuals and people with disabilities. To avert $2 billion in cuts, the state paused Medicaid reimbursements to thousands of providers like Wright in December while it implemented new anti-fraud measures.

...

While providers and patients acknowledged the need for safeguards, they say the state’s response undermines programs that made Minnesota a leader in autism therapy and assisted living services. They also warn that anti-fraud measures could deter workers from entering the care economy and increase government spending as patients without services turn to emergency rooms or require more intensive care later.

“To think that this is going to somehow create savings is a complete illusion,” said Ed Funk, a resident of Golden Valley, a Minneapolis suburb. Funk retired in February to help his wife care for their 30-year-old daughter Sophie, who has autism and a history of digestive and developmental issues. Sophie, who is slated for surgery to remove her colon, relies on the state’s night supervision and home support programs, Medicaid services deemed high risk for fraud. She needs 24-hour care from Learnability, but the state legislature recently enacted measures to cut down home support to no more than six hours a day.

Early results of the anti-fraud crackdown have left some providers and patients questioning whether the payoff was worth the disruption. Of the 2 million claims suspended for review between January and mid-May, only 0.06 percent were denied, according to state data. Its revalidation process did not reveal cases of fraud, but the Minnesota health agency flagged 59 providers — about 1 percent of those it had to revalidate — for further review.
...

“There’s a disconnect between policy decisions and how they impact communities they serve,” said Maren Christenson Hofer, executive director of the Multicultural Autism Action Network and mother to a 15-year-old child with autism. Some of the families her nonprofit served had to quit their jobs to care for their children when providers cut services during the payment freeze.

“The fraud prevention is causing so much more harm than fraud ever did,” Hofer said. “You took a financial problem and you turned it into a problem of survival.”