autism, their families and advocates are speaking out after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Junior promise to find the cause of the quote autism epidemic by September.

New research shows an increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism from one in 36 in the year 2020 up to one in 31 in 2022. here with more.

Our Peter Pansies director of the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment at Northwestern University and on Zoom, we have Kristen Ross, the chief marketing officer of the Autism Society of America.

Thanks to both for joining us here.

Let's start with you, please.

Why are we seeing or what do you think we're seeing this increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism?

So the consummate ease a fairly complex and we need >> Try separate the different factors.

So one big contributor is.

Better access.

To diagnosis.

Expansion of the diagnostic criteria and more awareness in the society.

So another contributor, areas read the finding that diagnosis from children who undiagnosed having good intellectual disability or other conditions before us on there's still a fraction of that is not explained by this.

So it seems that there's actually a it's hard to plan the numbers, but it's there's a real increse in actual cases.

>> How would you categorize autism and and how how is it diagnosed?

>> So let's start by specialists it's knows by behavioral observation and children have to satisfy 2 main criteria have some form of social.

Deficits, some difficulty with social interactions which could be language could be eye contact could be forms of social behavior.

And another one is repetitive or stereotypical behaviors.

So a different case have different mixtures fees.

That's why it makes it a little bit more complicated.

also.

That a different ways of diagnosing it.

So it could be a simple way in which parents and more complex and more involved way in which special us spend 2 hours with a child and go through a very rigorous testing.

So that introduces a little bit of imprecision writing in.

>> Right, Candy can be subjective based on obviously experiences of practitioners who are doing the diagnosis.

But it's not the kind of thing we can take a blood test tissues and all are exceptionally.

There's no such it does not exist today.

Kristen, what are the Autism Society of America's concerns for what Robert F Kennedy Junior is his approach to investigating this increase in autism?

Diagnoses.

>> Thank you for having me.

So the autism society, along with our peer organizations, the scientific and medical community really acknowledge that there is that added need for more science-based research that helps us better understand autism.

However, it needs to be concluded, in fact, and we need to have experts, advocacy groups, autistic voices and community members at the table to be part of this initiative.

So having some additional concerns that spanned from just act of transparency and awareness on the methodologies and who's going to be involved.

And is this going to follow due process is really essential, too.

Understand the initiative as a whole.

And then we all know that no matter what type of researchers scientific endeavor, it takes time to produce quality pair reviewed outcome.

So that's something that we really stress is how this is being led.

you know, science-based.

This decision making.

>> RFK junior, he spoke last week he referred to autism as a quote, preventable disease.

This is during a speech last week.

>> These kids many of them are fully functional.

And request because of some environmental exposure in taught to them.

There.

2 years old.

And these are kids who will.

Never pay taxes.

never hold a job.

I'm played baseball.

Don't ever write a poem.

I'm never go out on a date.

Many of them never use a toilet unassisted.

>> Peter, you mentioned environmental exposures playing a factor.

We know that there's been lots of talk about the role of vaccines in particular and how that research has been debunked many times.

Do you think environmental country there's an environmental contributor to autism?

Yes, I don't.

I would agree that there >> That genetic contribution is fairly well established.

And we know that there's a 50 to 80 to 90% genetic contribution.

But the difference is environmental.

there's a very complex interaction between genes and environment.

Often jeans set you up for increase, your risk.

But then that is some second hit that's needed to, you know, over and that could be environmental.

It could be another genetic variation or it could be a broad range of factors.

And the environmental factors contributors have been much more difficult to study because with jeans you can.

We know We can measure, then we can, you know, accurately measure them.

But how many, you know, factors are we expose throw life?

How many chemicals?

How many, you know?

Various factors.

So it's much more difficult and maybe that's one reason why they haven't actually being us.

Well studied.

>> Kristen.

Do you think there are consequences to the narrative that the secretary is circulating?

>> I do.

And I a lot of our peer organizations and other disability groups alongside us have spoken out about this.

I think, by not leading with current science-based evidence when speaking definitively or claiming things not only places on Warren to blame on families are parents but also contributes to that stigma and stereotypes people feeling other.

And when you lead with that deficit based narrative by using rhetoric like chronic disease or childhood to disease or epidemic, you are placing blame on that community and generalizing and entire community when there are so many die first experiences and every single person's journey with autism is unique.

So we have to not dehumanize people by perpetuating this type of state.

And ask we all come to the table and acknowledge that we have varied and unique experiences.

And that's OK, and that is why they call it the spectrum the autism spectrum disorder because it is a spectrum of people that exist on it.