Autism experts at the University of Missouri push back on RFK Jr.'s claims and proposed 'registry'

Staff at the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment are concerned about plans to create a registry of Americans with autism. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has declared a “massive testing and research effort” to determine a “root cause” of the disorder.

The new, expanded facility for the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment at the University of Missouri is getting ready to open next spring, doubling its capacity for treatment as the demand for services increases.

Meanwhile, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been trumpeting his controversial claims about autism: that it hits fully functional children, destroys families and could be caused by vaccines or environmental toxins.

Concerns in the United States have been growing about