“This is an epidemic. It dwarfs the COVID epidemic and the impacts on our country because COVID killed old people,” Kennedy said Sunday on “The Cats Roundtable” radio show on WABC 770 AM.

“Autism affects children and affects them at the beginning of their lives, the beginning of their productivity,” the 71-year-old told host John Catsimatidis.

One in every 31 Americans is now diagnosed, Kennedy added, insisting that the economic cost of autism will skyrocket to $1 trillion a year by 2035.

“About 26% of them have no capacity [to live independently]. And the indications are they never will,” the HHS secretary said.

“We’re taking kids that should be healthy, that should be contributing to society … that should be … reaching their potential … and we’re injuring them very early in life. It’s an epidemic,” he said.

Autism spectrum disorder has no single known cause. However, scientists believe both genetics and environmental factors, such as complications during pregnancy, may play a role.

Earlier this month, Kennedy announced that his department would examine six “environmental factors” that he said could lead to autism.

Among the “factors” the HHS boss said would be scrutinized are ultrasound scans, mold, pesticides, food chemicals, medicines and air and water contamination.

All this was startling information for the American people now so accustomed to celebrating autism awareness and acceptance for a whole month every April.

Kennedy’s claim had to be challenged of course. The REALLY BIG LIE ABOUT AUTISM, which I have written about numerous times over the past 20 years, must continue. That LIE is the myth that whatever the current rate is (and it is always increasing), that has always been the number of children with autism in the US.

THERE ARE NEVER REALLY MORE AUTISTIC CHILDREN; it’s just we’re recognizing all the ones we missed in the past.

Here’s a small sample of how the media quickly reassured the public with the REALLY BIG LIE after Kennedy’s press conference.

TIME:

But Kennedy has it wrong, say critics—and even the CDC itself. The increases seen in various communities, says the report, “might be due to differences in availability of services for early detection and evaluation and diagnostic practices…Another reason for differences in prevalence could be whether children have insurance coverage or meet eligibility criteria for access to early intervention services.”

That is in keeping with the position of experts, who have maintained for years that increases in autism cases are a mere function of better screening and a widening of the diagnostic criteria of what constitutes the condition. If you look for more autism—and, not insignificantly, have a better understanding of the signs—you’re going to find more.

“Most of the rise in autism is not a true rise of autism, but an increase in diagnosis and because of changes in diagnostic criteria,” says Dr. Peter Hotez, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine, and co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital’s Center for Vaccine Development. “Also, starting in 2005, the American Academy of Pediatrics asked pediatricians to start doing autism screening at between one and two years of age. Additionally, we've provided access to autism services, so there's been incentive to get kids help.”

CBS Morning:

VIDEO:

Dr. Celine Gounder: Well, to be preventable, you’d need to know what causes autism. We know it’s multi-factorial. Genetics are a big part of that. There probably is an environmental component and other things that play as well.

But if you can’t say what it is, other than genetics—and you can’t really control your genetics. So if we can’t say what is, it’s very difficult, if not impossible to prevent.

. . . Gestational diabetes during pregnancy might be a risk factor for autism. . . . I do think that research is important, but to say that there is one toxin that is driving all of this is one, highly unlikely, and I think is really misleading.

CNN:

A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that autism rates in 8-year-olds in the US rose from 1 in 36 in 2020 to 1 in 31 in 2022. The increase continues a long-term trend that experts have largely attributed to better understanding of and screening for the condition.

ABC News:

Medical professionals say the rise in autism diagnosis is largely because of better awareness and diagnosis, as well as broadening medical definitions that now encompass a wider range of people on the autism spectrum.

Newsweek:

Many medical experts and autism advocacy groups reject this idea and have suggested that greater awareness, in addition to increased testing and screening by health care professionals, has led to higher number.

SO WHEN WILL IT END?

These have been the “relentless” increases in the autism rate that Kennedy referred to, and ALL OF THEM have been officially dismissed as no real increase.

In 2002 the rate was one in every 250 children. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

In 2004 it was one in 166 children, one in 102 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

In 2007 it became one in 150 children, one in 92 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

In 2009 it soared to one in 110 children, one in 68 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

In 2012 it was one in 88 children, one in 54 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

In 2014 it was one in 68 children, one in 42 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

In 2018 it was one in 59, one in 36 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

In 2020 it was one in 54 children, one in 33 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

In 2021 it was one in 44 children, one in 27 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

In 2023 it was one in 36 children, one in 22 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

NOW 2025, it is one in 31 children, one in 19 boys. Better diagnosing, greater awareness.

I recently wrote two stories highlighting the names of the various federal health officials who’ve spent two decades telling us autism is nothing new in the lives of children.

One in 31 children with autism; 20 years of lies and cover-up

How CDC covered up the autism epidemic

Each of the experts I cited should have to answer the question: WHEN IS IT GOING TO STOP?

Clearly one in 31 is only temporary. Already the official autism rate for California, coincidentally announced at the same time as the update, is one in every 19 children, one in every 12 boys (up from one in 22 children).

Will that eventually be the national rate, five percent of children and eight percent of boys with autism?

No end in sight here.

Other places are close to California’s rate:

2023, Australia: one in every 25 children . . .one in 15 boys

2024 Scotland: one in every 23 children . . .one in 14 boys

2023 Northern Ireland: one in every 20 children . . . one in 12 boys

2025, Ireland: one in every 20 children, . . .one in 12 boys

Maybe our whole country will get to the rate of the Somali community in Minnesota.

2024 Minnesota: one in every 16 Somali children . . . one in 10 boys

Maybe things will reach the point when the numbers are so overwhelming that the lie changes from “better diagnosing” to “over diagnosing.”

That’s actually happening right now in Britain. MP Nigel Farage is upset over all the schoolchildren with costly special education needs. He referred to this as “a massive problem.”

The Daily Mail reported that advocacy groups immediately attacked Farage for denying that these children have real needs.

Nigel Farage clashed with charities today as he claimed family doctors are 'massively over-diagnosing' children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Ahead of next week's local elections, the Reform UK leader said there was a 'massive problem' among councils due to soaring demand for SEND services.

Data has shown how the number of school pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) in England rose by 180,000 - or 71 per cent - between 2018 and 2024.

The truth is a majority of local councils in England report that unless they get another bailout from the national government, special education costs will bankrupt city and county governments by March 2026.

If you go to my site, Loss of Brain Trust where I post news reports on the decline of children worldwide, it’s clear that the majority of stories are now from the UK and Ireland. Farage is right to be worried, only it’s not “over-diagnosing.” It’s more and more and more disabled children for real.

Look at the stories I post announcing yet another new special school being built to avoid the costly out-of-area placement of kids too disabled to be educated in mainstream schools. Look at the children on waitlist for years just to get an assessment for special needs. This is followed by years of waiting for support to be provided.

And yes, the explosion in special education needs is all about AUTISM.

In 2022, Schools Week in the UK reported this about the impact of autism on special education.

SEND isn’t on the precipice – it’s tipped over the edge

Over half of the children and young people in special schools have a primary or secondary need of autism. For children in early years specialist settings, the figure is 65 per cent….

Nigel Farage should look over Loss of Brain Trust to see what’s really happening in his country. The press tells the public every day that there is “increasing demand” and students with “more complex needs. This is not over-diagnosing.

More Special Needs Students

In July 2024 the Wales Mirage published, Research: Nearly Half of Welsh Kids Have Learning Needs

A new study has highlighted the prevalence of additional learning needs, formerly known as special educational needs, among under 16-year-olds in Wales.

The research and policy reports, led by the University of Bristol and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, found nearly half (47.9%) of children born in 2002/2003 were identified with some form of additional learning needs (ALN) at some point during their schooling. This was shown to have the biggest impact on academic achievement across all Key Stages of their education. . . .

In February 2025 the Glasgow Herald reported that the special education numbers had increased from 37 percent of Scottish students announced in 2023 to now 40 percent of children in school there.

Since the ASL (Scotland) Act was enacted in 2004 the number of pupils in schools with ASN has increased to 40%, which does present challenges.

So as our children become more and more disabled and dysfunctional, the people in charge both here and abroad don’t seem to want to recognize what’s happening.

Calling it better diagnosing or over-diagnosing is really the same thing: DENYING ANYTHING IS WRONG.

Denial must continue

I can’t see officials in the US being any more concerned about one in 20 children with autism than they are about one in 31. Their steadfast refusal to admit autism is a manmade epidemic guarantees that it will continue. Their vague references to possible indiscernible environmental factors means they’re never going to honestly look for any. Their blanket refusal to study the 30 percent of autistic children who start out normally developing but then suddenly or gradually lose learned skills and end up on the autism spectrum means they already know what’s causing autism, and their only objective is covering it up.

Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.