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cover of episode Factchecking the Trump administration?s Autism claims

Factchecking the Trump administration?s Autism claims

2025/5/31
logo of podcast More or Less: Behind the Stats

More or Less: Behind the Stats
AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
People
F
Francesca Happé
L
Lizzie McNeil
M
Mitty Hornig
R
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Topics
Lizzie McNeil: 作为主持人，我介绍了罗伯特·F·肯尼迪被任命为卫生部长以及他对自闭症的关注。我引用了他的观点，即自闭症对家庭和儿童造成了破坏，并强调了美国自闭症发病率高于全球平均水平。同时，我也对自闭症诊断标准的演变以及诊断率上升背后的原因提出了疑问，引出了对自闭症诊断率上升是否真实反映了自闭症患病率增加的讨论。 Mitty Hornig: 作为一名医生科学家，我解释了自闭症的核心特征，包括社交沟通障碍和重复行为。我强调了自闭症诊断标准的演变，指出诊断范围的扩大是导致诊断率上升的重要因素。同时，我也强调了遗传因素在自闭症发病中的重要作用，并提到了环境因素可能导致的基因突变。此外，我批评了罗伯特·肯尼迪对自闭症患者的极端看法，强调了自闭症患者也可以是社会中富有成效的成员，拥有充实的生活。 Francesca Happé: 作为认知神经科学教授，我详细解释了自闭症诊断标准的历史演变。我指出，最初的诊断标准只关注需要高度支持的患者，而后来引入的阿斯伯格综合症和广泛性发育障碍未另行说明（PDD-NOS）扩大了诊断范围，导致诊断率显著上升。我强调，诊断标准的改变是自闭症诊断率上升的主要原因之一，而不是自闭症患病率的真实增加。 Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: 我认为自闭症摧毁家庭和孩子，并声称要降低美国的发病率。我还认为自闭症患者永远无法融入社会，无法工作和生活。但是我的观点受到了其他专家的批评，他们认为我对自闭症患者的描述过于极端，并且忽视了他们的潜力和价值。

Deep Dive

Chapters
This chapter explores the significant increase in autism diagnoses, questioning whether it reflects an actual rise in autism prevalence or other factors. It examines historical data, diagnostic changes, and the evolving understanding of autism spectrum disorder.
  • A significant rise in autism diagnoses has been observed, from 1 in 2,500 in the 1980s to 1 in 31 in recent years.
  • This increase may not solely reflect a rise in autism cases but also changes in diagnostic criteria and increased awareness.
  • The introduction of Asperger's syndrome and later its inclusion under the autism umbrella broadened the diagnostic scope.

Shownotes Transcript

Picking Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine sceptic, as the Secretary for Public Health might not be the most ?out there? thing the Trump administration has done but it certainly raised some eyebrows.

Since his appointment Kennedy has been on a mission to ?Make America Healthy again? and has set his sights on finding ?the cure? for Autism.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder that can affect how someone communicates, socialises, learns and behaves. In the 1980?s one study estimated that 4 in 10,000 (1 in 2500) children in Wisconsin had an Autism diagnosis. Recent data from the Centres for Disease control states that 1 in 31 eight year olds in the US have the condition.

Why have the numbers gone up? Is it due to environmental toxins as Robert Kennedy suggests or does the answer lie in the counting?

Presenter/Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Studio Manager: Andrew Mills Editor: Richard Vadon