WEBVTT - Why is the U.S. investigating autism?

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<v Speaker 1>Already and this is the Daily This is the Daily OS. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>now it makes sense. Good morning, and welcome to the

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<v Speaker 1>Daily OS. It's Friday, the twenty fifth of April. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Lucy Tassel.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Zara Seidler.

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<v Speaker 1>Last week, the US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior,

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<v Speaker 1>announced an investigation into what he called the autism epidemic

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<v Speaker 1>and called the condition a preventable disease. Kennedy's interest in

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<v Speaker 1>the causes of autism is long standing, but he's never

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<v Speaker 1>had a platform as large as leading the US Health

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<v Speaker 1>Department before. In today's podcast, we'll explain Kennedy's history with autism,

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<v Speaker 1>the new investigation, and what it might mean for autistic Americans.

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<v Speaker 2>Lucy, before we dive into this story, because there's a

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<v Speaker 2>lot there and I want to unpack it all. But

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<v Speaker 2>I do think that a good starting point is by

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<v Speaker 2>actually just explaining autism, because that is at the center

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<v Speaker 2>of this story. What is autism and how does it manifest?

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<v Speaker 1>So you've probably heard the phrase on the spectrum, possibly

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<v Speaker 1>in the context of the show Love on the Spectrum.

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<v Speaker 1>That's referring to the autism spectrum. So autism is a

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<v Speaker 1>neurological condition. It can manifest in a number of different

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<v Speaker 1>ways and to different degrees, which is why we talk

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<v Speaker 1>about it as being a spectrum. It's diagnosed through developmental

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<v Speaker 1>assessments and behavioral observations, and it's often characterized by differences

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<v Speaker 1>in communication styles and issues with sensory processing. In terms

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<v Speaker 1>of autism in Australia, where we are, according to the

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<v Speaker 1>Bureau of Statistics, autistic Australians are nearly six times more

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<v Speaker 1>likely to be unemployed than Australians without a disability, and

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<v Speaker 1>the majority of young autistic Australians experience difficulty in school settings, and.

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<v Speaker 2>So that paints a picture as to how autism manifests.

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<v Speaker 2>But do we understand what causes autism?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, we know as much about the causes of autism

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<v Speaker 1>as we do about the causes of any other kind

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<v Speaker 1>of neurological condition, which is to say, not much. But

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<v Speaker 1>we think it could be a range of things. It

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<v Speaker 1>could be genetic, it could be something to do with

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<v Speaker 1>brain development. I think what it's important to say is

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<v Speaker 1>that we don't know as clearly as we do for example,

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<v Speaker 1>that if you smoke cigarettes your risk of cancer increases.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't have that same cause and effect for neurological conditions,

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<v Speaker 1>including autism. However, in the late nineteen nineties, there was

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<v Speaker 1>a man named Andrew Wakefield who published a medical study

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<v Speaker 1>which he said suggested that a routine childhood vaccine, specifically

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<v Speaker 1>the MMR vaccine, which is for measles, mumps, and rubella,

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<v Speaker 1>causes autism. His study involved twelve children, eight of whom

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<v Speaker 1>had been diagnosed with all autism within a month of

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<v Speaker 1>receiving this routine vaccine.

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<v Speaker 2>I do think it's important to say here that a

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<v Speaker 2>sample size of twelve is by no means comprehensive and

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<v Speaker 2>is not, you know, even just by journalistic standard, something

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<v Speaker 2>that we would necessarily report on me even today. What's

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<v Speaker 2>happened since that research was handed down.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, this sample size was one of the many issues

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<v Speaker 1>with the study. I should note also, according to the

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<v Speaker 1>Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Vaccine Education Center, the MMR vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>is administered around the time that children are most commonly

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<v Speaker 1>diagnosed with autism, meaning it was a case of two

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<v Speaker 1>things happening around the same time being wrongly considered as linked.

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<v Speaker 1>A useful example might be I get caught in the

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<v Speaker 1>rain one day and a couple of weeks later, I

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<v Speaker 1>get diagnosed with depression. It doesn't mean that because I

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<v Speaker 1>got caught in the rain and I got wet and

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't like it, that I became depressed, even though

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<v Speaker 1>I was sad on that day. It just means that

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<v Speaker 1>these two happened within a couple of weeks of each other,

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<v Speaker 1>and that is what the scientific community now suggests was

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<v Speaker 1>the case with Wakefield's study. So Andrew Wakefield actually later

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<v Speaker 1>lost his medical license as a result of this study

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<v Speaker 1>and some of the research processes that he went through

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<v Speaker 1>to produce the study. It was found that he had

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<v Speaker 1>breached professional ethics and forced children to undergo unnecessary medical procedures.

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<v Speaker 1>The paper itself has been comprehensively debunked by many many scientists.

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<v Speaker 1>But there's a saying coined by American civil rights activist

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<v Speaker 1>Medga Evers, you can kill a man, but you can't

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<v Speaker 1>kill an idea. Wakefield's official medical career is dead, but

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<v Speaker 1>the idea that he put into the world is very

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<v Speaker 1>much alive. Someone else who's used that phrase is Robert F.

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<v Speaker 1>Kennedy's uncle John F. Kennedy, who was President of the

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<v Speaker 1>United States in the nineteen sixties.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, and we have done a whole podcast about JFK.

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<v Speaker 2>Anyone that listened to that knows that I'm ABS, but

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<v Speaker 2>we're going to put that aside for this episode because

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<v Speaker 2>we're not talking about JFK. We are talking about RFK Junior.

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<v Speaker 2>So Robert F. Kennedy talk to me about his ascension

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<v Speaker 2>to becoming the health secretary, because it's quite an unorthodox

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<v Speaker 2>path here, and I want to focus on his career

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<v Speaker 2>before we get to what he's now claiming.

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<v Speaker 1>As I mentioned, Kennedy's uncle was US President. JFK was

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<v Speaker 1>assassinated in November nineteen sixty three. The Kennedy family as

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<v Speaker 1>a whole has been a huge part of US political life,

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<v Speaker 1>specifically with the Democratic Party for many decades. Kennedy's own father,

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<v Speaker 1>Robert F. Kennedy Senior, was Attorney General to his brother

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<v Speaker 1>and mounted his own presidential campaign before he was also

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<v Speaker 1>assassinated in nineteen sixty eight. As for RFK Junior, he

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<v Speaker 1>worked as an environmental lawyer for many years. He sued

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<v Speaker 1>several major companies for pollution in the early two thousands.

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<v Speaker 1>In two thousand and three, specifically, he has said he

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<v Speaker 1>was approached by a woman named Sarah Bridges, who said

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<v Speaker 1>her young son had become very ill and had been

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<v Speaker 1>diagnosed with autism after receiving a routine vaccination. Kennedy then

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<v Speaker 1>became convinced that mercury, which is a chemical element used

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<v Speaker 1>in vaccines for preservation, was endangering children. Now, I should

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<v Speaker 1>note mercury was once used in vaccines, or rather a

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<v Speaker 1>preservative derived from mercury. It was in the process of

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<v Speaker 1>being phased out when Kennedy kind of took up this crusade.

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<v Speaker 1>He published an article about the supposed connection in Rolling

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<v Speaker 1>Stone magazine, which was later several years later withdrawn because

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<v Speaker 1>it is not accurate. Following that, Kennedy chaired a nonprofit

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<v Speaker 1>organization called Children's Health Defense, which is an anti vaccine organization,

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<v Speaker 1>and he repeatedly said he believes a range of conditions

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<v Speaker 1>from food allergies to autism are tied to these routine,

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<v Speaker 1>standard childhood vaccinations. So that kind of explains his interest

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<v Speaker 1>in the world of health.

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<v Speaker 2>And so what happened between this interest specifically I cornered

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<v Speaker 2>the interest in say, the anti vax movement, to then

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<v Speaker 2>him becoming health secretary. What happened in between.

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<v Speaker 1>In early twenty twenty three, So just jumping ahead a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit, he launched a campaign for the US presidency.

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<v Speaker 1>He was running as a Democrat. Later that year, he

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<v Speaker 1>dropped out of the party and went independent. He then

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<v Speaker 1>suspended his campaign in August twenty twenty four, and he

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<v Speaker 1>endorsed Donald Trump, who, as we know, went on to

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<v Speaker 1>win election and become President of the United States for

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<v Speaker 1>the second time. And then after Trump's election, he appointed

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<v Speaker 1>Kennedy as the head of the Health Department, which means

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<v Speaker 1>he the Health Secretary.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and there was an understanding that when RFK dropped

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<v Speaker 2>out that there was some agreement between him and Trump,

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<v Speaker 2>and so when he was announced as Health Secretary, I

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<v Speaker 2>don't know that there was a lot of surprise. I

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<v Speaker 2>think people really expected it. Yeah, But he's now been

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<v Speaker 2>in the role for a couple of months, and last

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<v Speaker 2>week he announced this new major investigation. What is it?

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<v Speaker 1>According to Kennedy, this investigation is going to be led

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<v Speaker 1>by one of the major US government health bodies, which

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<v Speaker 1>is the National Institutes of Health. It's going to be

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<v Speaker 1>focused on the quote root causes of autism, including, according

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<v Speaker 1>to Kennedy, environmental toxins. The National Institutes has also been

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<v Speaker 1>tasked with examining food additives, mold, pesticide, medicines, and ultrasounds

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<v Speaker 1>done during pregnancy. Kennedy said, they've been asked to quote,

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<v Speaker 1>come back with an answer for the American people very

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<v Speaker 1>quickly as to what he's saying is the cause of autism. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>what's interesting to me is this investigation was announced on

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<v Speaker 1>the heels of another US government research project, this one

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<v Speaker 1>conducted by another government body, the Centers for Disease Control

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<v Speaker 1>and Prevention aka the CDC.

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<v Speaker 2>Lots of people would be familiar from COVID with the CDC.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, the CDC's study found one in thirty one eight

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<v Speaker 1>year olds in the US are autistic, which is up

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<v Speaker 1>from one in thirty six in twenty twenty. The results

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<v Speaker 1>came from data collected from sixteen different locations across the country.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to be clear, the report rejected the idea

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<v Speaker 1>that quote living in certain communities put children at greater

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<v Speaker 1>risk for developing autism, so effectively saying there are not

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<v Speaker 1>environmental factors. Instead, the CDC said the differences in diagnosis

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<v Speaker 1>rates across these sixteen different communities quote might be due

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<v Speaker 1>to differences in the availability of services for early detection

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<v Speaker 1>and evaluation. So a fairly simple ar Kennedy then announced

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<v Speaker 1>this new investigation right after having received this previous investigation,

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<v Speaker 1>which suggested that environmental factors like living in certain communities

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<v Speaker 1>don't impact autism.

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<v Speaker 2>So his investigation is into whether that is the case

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<v Speaker 2>or not. What's been the reaction to this announcement.

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<v Speaker 1>The announcement sparked quite a bit of backlash from health experts,

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<v Speaker 1>from disability advocates, and from autism support organizations. In a

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<v Speaker 1>statement responding to the investigation, the US Autism Society rejected

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<v Speaker 1>Kennedy's claims, labeling his language as quote both inaccurate and stigmatizing.

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<v Speaker 1>They called it harmful rhetoric and a harmful policy direction.

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<v Speaker 1>That quote reflects a troubling lack of understanding, empathy and respect.

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<v Speaker 1>Part of that backlash centered around not just the investigation,

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<v Speaker 1>but also around something that he said during.

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<v Speaker 3>His Autism destroys families. And these are kids who will

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<v Speaker 3>never pay taxes, they'll never hold a job, i'll play baseball,

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<v Speaker 3>they'll never write a poem, they'll never go out on

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<v Speaker 3>a date. Many of them will than ever use a toilet. Unassessed.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, as I said, autism is a spectrum, so that

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<v Speaker 1>is not something that can be applied to every autistic person,

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<v Speaker 1>and even though there are some people for whom that

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<v Speaker 1>does apply, advocates say these characteristics don't make them of

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<v Speaker 1>any less value as a person, nor does it quote

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<v Speaker 1>destroy their family necessarily. Later in the week, Kennedy announced

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<v Speaker 1>he wants a registry of all autistic Americans, which has

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<v Speaker 1>raised concerns around people's privacy as well about what has

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<v Speaker 1>historically happened when governments make a list of people based

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<v Speaker 1>on a single characteristic. So it will be very interesting

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<v Speaker 1>to see what the outcome of this investigation and what

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<v Speaker 1>other moves Kennedy makes during his time as Health Secretary

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<v Speaker 1>over the next couple of years.

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<v Speaker 2>Lucy, thank you so much for explaining that story, and

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<v Speaker 2>it's definitely one that we will be keeping a really

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<v Speaker 2>close eye on to see what happens with this investigation

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<v Speaker 2>and what the Trump administration plans to do with that.

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<v Speaker 2>And if you have any questions about this story, please

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<v Speaker 2>feel free to leave some comments in our Spotify and

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<v Speaker 2>we'll be sure to.

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<v Speaker 3>Get back to you.

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Arunda

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<v Speaker 1>Bunje lung Kalkutin woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz

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<v Speaker 1>acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of

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<v Speaker 1>the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and

0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:46.360
<v Speaker 1>Torres Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to

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<v Speaker 1>the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.