Month: April 2025

According to a new report published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), autism diagnoses continue to increase in the United States.

An estimated one in 31 8-year-olds was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 2022; while in comparison, 1 in 36 were diagnosed with ASD in 2020; and 1 in 150 children were diagnosed with autism in 2000. The report does not mean one in 31 children is living with the most severe cases of the disorder. Among children with ASD, fewer than 40% of children were classified as having an intellectual disability.

This statistic, drawn from an analysis of 2022 medical records, highlights the significant increase in autism diagnoses over the last 20 years. The CDC also reportedly found ASD was 3.4 times more prevalent among boys at 49.2 children per 1,000 compared to 14.3 children per 1,000.

ASD is a spectrum, which means symptoms vary by person: some need little support in their daily lives, and some may need a great deal of support in performing day-to-day activities. Some may have advanced conversation skills and others may be nonverbal. As for why autism rates are increasing, the reasons remain unclear and complex. While environmental and societal factors have long been investigated, most experts point to genetics as the most compelling explanation.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to suggest a link between vaccines and autism — particularly involving the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine — despite extensive research disproving any connection. The claim has been widely discredited but remains a factor in declining vaccination rates in the U.S.

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The federal government has frozen over $2 billion in grants to Harvard University, after the school rejected demands from the Trump administration. The administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced the cuts in a statement that called out “the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges,” stating that $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million “in multi-year contract value” would be frozen to Harvard.

The demands from the White House included third-party audits of campus programs and restrictions on international students, as part of a broader initiative to combat antisemitism.  On Monday, Harvard had rejected the administration’s demands, sharing on the university’s X account: “The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government.”

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday to call for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status after their refusal to comply with the demands: “Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting “Sickness?” Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” 

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields added in a statement that there are no signs of backing down: “President Trump is working to Make Higher Education Great Again by ending unchecked anti-Semitism and ensuring federal taxpayer dollars do not fund Harvard’s support of dangerous racial discrimination or racially motivated violence.”

The administration’s demands also included dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, replacing them with merit-based policies.  Harvard’s legal counsel emphasized that the university is committed to combating all forms of bigotry but cannot comply with directives that violate constitutional protections.

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