Autism

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences in social behavior including communication, interests and sensory input. Autistic Spectrum Disorder encompasses a wide range of symptoms and severity, affecting roughly 1 in 31 children according to the National Autism Association. People with autism’s experiences and symptoms vary significantly. Autism often goes undiagnosed in women, with research from UCLA showing that close to 80 percent of women under 18 go undiagnosed.

What to Know About the CDC’s Baseless New Guidance on Autism

PUBLISHED 11/24/2025 by

The rewriting of a page on the CDC’s website to assert the false claim that vaccines may cause autism sparked a torrent of anger and anguish from doctors, scientists and parents who say Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is wrecking the credibility of an agency they’ve long relied on for unbiased scientific evidence.

The revised CDC webpage will be used to support efforts to ditch most childhood vaccines, said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan and co-editor-in-chief of the journal Vaccine. “It will be cited as evidence, even though it’s completely invented,” she said.

Fighting MAGA Medical Disinformation: States Must Confront Trump’s War on Science and Reproductive Health

PUBLISHED 11/4/2025 by and

Backed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mehmet Oz, Trump’s attacks on safe, widely used medications are part of a larger strategy: sowing fear, undermining trust in science, and exerting political control over people’s most intimate health decisions.

The administration’s disinformation campaign extends far beyond Tylenol. Officials are questioning the safety of mifepristone despite decades of evidence to the contrary and spreading the falsehood that birth control causes abortion—all while defunding Planned Parenthood and funneling taxpayer dollars to crisis pregnancy centers that mislead and manipulate patients. Together, these actions threaten to upend decades of progress in reproductive health and put millions of women at risk.

It’s time for a coordinated response. Just as states have joined forces to counter anti-vaccine propaganda, public health leaders must now unite to defend reproductive healthcare. State and local governments can share strategies, strengthen protections for evidence-based medicine, and push back—loudly and collectively—against the Trump administration’s dangerous campaign of medical disinformation.

Leading Health Groups Slam Trump and RFK’s Claims Linking Tylenol to Autism: ‘Irresponsible and Misleading’

PUBLISHED 9/25/2025 by and

Doctors and autism researchers stress that acetaminophen remains safe during pregnancy and warn that Trump and Kennedy’s claims risk spreading harmful misinformation.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): “Today’s White House event on autism was filled with dangerous claims and misleading information that sends a confusing message to parents and expecting parents and does a disservice to autistic individuals.”

American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP): “Emergency physicians must align around clear, evidence-based guidance for patients. The data from numerous studies have shown that acetaminophen is safe and effective.”

‘Off the Spectrum’: How the Science of Autism Has Failed Women and Girls

PUBLISHED 4/1/2025 by

An excerpt from Off the Spectrum: Why the Science of Autism Has Failed Women and Girls by Gina Rippon:

“Maybe we can (gently) deconstruct the elaborate camouflages that have allowed autistic girls to ‘fly beneath the radar,’ to ‘hide in plain sight.’ We must listen to these lost girls so that autism researchers, autism therapists, autism advocates, and the wider general population will have a much clearer idea of what we should be looking for, what we need to explain, so that we can better understand the autistic world.”

Keeping Score: More Attacks on Trans Rights; Sexual Assault Should Disqualify Cabinet Nominees, Americans Say; Female Professors Win Lawsuit and Backpay for Pay Disparity

PUBLISHED 12/11/2024 by

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: The Supreme Court considers a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans teens; data shows crimes in public restrooms and changing rooms are extremely rare, and are not decreased by laws preventing trans people from using public bathrooms; analyzing Trump’s cabinet nominees; midwives say climate change is harming their communities; Nevada maintains a majority woman legislature; criminal justice reform for probation, parole and bail is critical; Arizona moves to end 15-week abortion ban; Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have asked the Biden administration to limit the federal government from deploying troops domestically; and more.

Anti-Medicine, Anti-Science and Antiabortion: Preparing for Trump’s Incoming Cabinet

PUBLISHED 12/3/2024 by

Since the election was decided in November, like many people, I have been paying close attention to the individuals selected for appointment by the incoming Trump administration. As an OB-GYN and abortion provider, I know firsthand that these appointees will have a direct and devastating impact on our community’s access to healthcare, public health and social safety net infrastructure and our ability to be well.

Collaboratively, these cabinet picks have gained popularity by way of anti-intellectualism, misinformation and scare tactics, ultimately preying on the most vulnerable members of our community. They are not just poorly qualified to lead this work—they are dangerous. 

Is ‘The Good Doctor’ the New ‘Rain Man’?

PUBLISHED 10/11/2024 by

After seven long seasons, The Good Doctor aired its final episode this summer. For a series that has been a large point of contention among the Autistic community, for better or for worse, the show has cemented itself a seemingly permanent spot in the conversation about Autistic media representation and, more broadly, how Autism is seen by the general public. 

I am Autistic, and I polled several fellow Autistic thought leaders and experts, and it’s official: The Autistic community mostly rejects the show, mainly for its oversimplified and flawed representation of Autism. 

The Results of the Biggest Study on Guaranteed Income Programs Are Finally In

PUBLISHED 7/30/2024 by

Since the 1960s, guaranteed income has been seen as a way to help communities of color, women and LGBTQ+ people. Each of those groups still faces large pay disparities in an economy built primarily to support white men. 

For eight years, researchers have been quietly putting together the largest, most comprehensive study on programs that give people a monthly stream of cash—no strings attached. Over time, does that income transform people’s lives? The data is now in. Right away, the data clearly showed that cash helped people spend more on their basic needs.

Republicans Want to Kill the Dept. of Ed and Privatize Education. Billionaires Are Helping Them.

PUBLISHED 7/11/2024 by

In the fall, the Department of Education will mark 45 years since its inception, but that anniversary could be its last if Donald Trump gets his way. The federal agency is one of several he’s vowed to slash if reelected president. 

Project 2025, a set of policy recommendations for a second Trump term released by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, not only supports eliminating the agency and removing LGBTQ+ protections and diversity curricula from schools but also privatizing education.