RFK Jr. Vows to Reveal Cause of Autism by September, Sparking Debate Across Medical Community

In a bold and controversial move, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that the federal government will identify the cause of what he calls the nation’s “autism epidemic” by September 2025. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting alongside President Donald Trump, Kennedy stated that a “massive testing and research effort” is already underway, involving scientists from around the globe. The goal, he said, is not only to determine the root cause of autism but also to eliminate the harmful exposures believed to be responsible.

Kennedy’s announcement has been met with mixed reactions. Supporters praised the urgency he brings to a deeply personal and public health issue. Critics, including many within the scientific and autism communities, raised serious concerns about the science behind the effort and Kennedy’s past statements about vaccines.

What Is Autism and Why the Concern?

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental condition that affects how people communicate, interact, and behave. It is called a “spectrum” because it includes a wide range of symptoms and severity. Some people with autism may be nonverbal or need significant support in daily life, while others may function independently and even excel in certain areas like mathematics or memory.

Rates of autism have increased significantly over the past few decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of 2020, about 1 in 36 children in the United States had been diagnosed with autism. RFK Jr. said that new numbers may show an even higher rate. “The autism rates have gone from—our most recent numbers we think are going to be about 1 in 31,” Kennedy stated at the meeting. “They are going up again, from 1 in 10,000 when I was a kid.”

Back in 2000, the CDC reported a rate of 1 in 150. Researchers have attributed part of this rise to improved awareness and changes in diagnostic criteria. However, Kennedy believes something more concerning is behind the numbers. “By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic, and we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures,” he told President Trump during the Cabinet meeting.

President Trump Responds: “Something’s Causing It”

President Trump reacted to Kennedy’s remarks with strong interest and support. “That’s a horrible statistic, isn’t it?” he said in response to the data on rising autism rates. He went on to suggest that some unknown outside factor must be responsible. “There’s got to be something artificial out there that’s doing this,” Trump said. “So you think you’re gonna have a pretty good idea?” Kennedy responded, “We will know by September.”

Trump later elaborated on what kind of exposures might be under investigation. “If you can come up with that answer, where you stop taking something, you stop eating something, or maybe it’s a shot,” he said. “But something’s causing it.”

A Massive Global Study or an Unrealistic Deadline?

Kennedy says the government’s effort will involve “hundreds of scientists from around the world.” The goal is to uncover environmental or man-made causes of autism, including possible links to food, water, air quality, chemicals, parenting styles, and vaccines. “We’re going to look at facts,” Kennedy said in an interview. “Everything is on the table: our food system, our water, our air, different ways of parenting, all the kind of changes that may have triggered this epidemic.”

But many experts say the timeline is not realistic. Dr. Lisa Settles, who directs the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Tulane University, told CNN, “Even developing a research program would take longer than five months. So how are you going to develop this program, collect the data and analyze the data in five months? That’s not really feasible.” She also questioned whether the research could be truly objective. “I definitely don’t feel like the research that would be proposed at this point in time would be free of bias,” she said.

Vaccine Theories Resurface

Kennedy’s long-standing criticism of vaccines has made his leadership at HHS especially controversial. Though he has insisted the current autism study will consider all possibilities, critics believe his views are already predetermined. Kennedy’s direction for the CDC to reopen studies on vaccine safety has alarmed many public health officials. Dr. Peter Marks, the former top vaccine regulator at the FDA who resigned under Kennedy’s leadership, warned against raising false hopes. “Giving people false hope is something you should never do,” Marks said on CBS News. “You can be incredibly supportive of people, but giving them false hope is wrong.”

Marks also dismissed any link between vaccines and autism. “The piece, though, that I will not accept as a cause of autism is the MMR vaccine, or for that matter, any of the other vaccines we use,” he said.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the NIH, supports that conclusion. “No link has been found between autism and vaccines, including those containing thimerosal, a mercury-based compound,” the institute stated.

Autism Advocates Push Back

Many organizations that support people with autism expressed serious concern about Kennedy’s announcement. The Autism Society of America called the initiative “harmful, misleading, and unrealistic.” In a formal statement, the group said, “Leading disability organizations, the scientific community, and credible medical experts all agree: we need more rigorous, science-based research—not speculation, less transparency, or oversimplified timelines.”

Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), said Kennedy’s comments about eliminating exposures “really is giving the game away.” She added, “They’re not going in with an open mind, going, ‘oh, I wonder what causes autism.’ They’re going: ‘We’re going to prove that it’s caused by a certain thing.’”

Other critics pointed to Kennedy’s hiring of David Geier, a discredited vaccine skeptic who once practiced medicine without a license and promoted dangerous treatments for autistic children. House Democrats have since launched a formal investigation into Geier’s role in the HHS study, stating in a letter that he is a “biased and discredited individual.”

Concerns Over Funding and Feasibility

In addition to the scientific concerns, practical questions remain. Since taking office, Kennedy has slashed the HHS budget by 25 percent. That includes cuts to the very agencies that would be needed to conduct a global research project, such as the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said, “I don’t know how you can do it if they’re cutting all the budget in NIH. Where’s the money coming from?”

He also questioned how the U.S. could lead a global effort after distancing itself from international scientific groups. “How do you coordinate a worldwide study when you’ve walked away from the World Health Organization and you’ve alienated all the researchers around the world?” he asked.

Looking Ahead

Despite the criticism, Kennedy remains firm in his promise. “We are going to find the cause,” he said, emphasizing that nothing would be left off the table. But many in the medical and scientific communities believe his approach is politically motivated, methodologically flawed, and unlikely to deliver meaningful answers in such a short period.

With autism rates rising and millions of families looking for clarity, the stakes are high. Whether Kennedy’s research effort provides answers or deepens the divide remains to be seen. As Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist at Baylor College of Medicine, explained, “Autism begins in early fetal brain development before kids ever even see vaccines. He’s already got his predetermined framework for what he says causes autism when it’s actually none of those things.”

If Kennedy follows through on his deadline, the country could see a major announcement in the fall. But whether the public sees it as credible science or a political stunt will likely depend on who is watching.

PB Editor: I can’t help but see a certain corruption in the the autism support organizations, who have redefined autism to bring a whole lot more children into their sphere. They have invented “the spectrum” to label children, much to the child’s detriment in most cases, in my humble opinion. That is a play for more money, and a cure, treatment or prevention would cost them money. This makes me angry and cynical. But this is not to say the problem is not getting worse.

Rumors have circulated for decades that lead based vaccines were the culprit, but hopefully RFK will find the correlations and then the cause and effect.