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Autism: Environment, or Genes?
To figure it out, you need to understand twin studies.
The issue I’m discussing this week is bound to be sensitive so let me try to focus just on the facts. Yes, there are more diagnosed cases of autism now than there have been in the past.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., cites that fact and suggests this implies the existence of an environmental cause of autism -as of yet unidentified — that, through careful research, can be identified, perhaps as early as September. The focus on an environmental explanation for the increase runs counter to a recent CDC report which suggests that the increase is due to better and earlier identification. The CDC is part of HHS, by the way. RKF Jr. referred to that line of evidence as a “canard” — a useful excuse to protect entrenched interests that are actually the culprits. And although I think we know what entrenched interests he may be referring to, I’ll give him credit that his public statements keep an open mind about what environmental factors might be at play.
I thought, therefore, that it might be a good time to look at what we already know about environmental…
