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 number of posts discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion.
Another leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust. Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
Kennedy’s department cut a grant that would have helped reduce suicide among autistic LGBT+ people.
Last year, the National Institutes of Health awarded a grant to Laura Graham Holmes, the professor at Hunter College in New York and a project leader for the ALIVE, which would have looked into interventions for sexual and gender minority autistic people.
Graham Holmes told The Independent she wanted to research this subject because of the fact that a large number of autistic people identify as LGBT+. Numerous studies have shown a significant overlap between autistic and transgender identity. Many autistic people also identify as nonbinary.
“What we know about this this group is that there are higher rates of mental health conditions,” she said. “So I've done some research using electronic medical records and found that, you know, we already know that autistic people have higher rates of depression and anxiety.”
Graham Holmes said that she learned about the grant being terminated last month when her dean told her that it would be canceled.
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Graham Holmes emphasized how many autistic LGBT+ people have little contact with their families and face high rates of suicide.
