Autism Rates Continue to Rise, Environmental Causes Investigated

• The steep rise wasn’t confined to one group — Boys remain the most impacted, with a national average of 1 in 20 receiving a diagnosis. In California, that number climbed to 1 in 12.5.

• The report also underscored a stark racial disparity — Rates were higher among Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial children than in White children. These patterns suggest this isn’t just a case of “better awareness” or “expanded definitions.” Something deeper is driving the numbers.

• The root causes have not been given significant attention — Mary Holland, CEO of Children’s Health Defense, commented on these findings, pointing out despite the rates rising steadily for decades, there’s been no comprehensive research initiative into the root causes.

“Tens of thousands of parents have come forward in recent decades to say they believe vaccines triggered their children’s autism. Yet mainstream science, media and government regulators have rejected the idea of even examining this observation seriously,” she said. “The 1 in 31 number is a testament to the failure of the medical system as we know it.”

• These aren’t just slight delays or quirks being over-medicalized — These are children who will need specialized education, therapies, and long-term care. Rebecca Estepp, an autism advocate and mother, emphasized this reality:

“These children face lifelong challenges with learning, communication, and independence. Many will need specialized care, educational supports, and social services for decades — services that are already stretched thin in many communities.”

• Autism rates are “beyond an epidemic” — The increases are not just statistical noise — they represent a true public health crisis that has been largely ignored. According to Toby Rogers, Ph.D., co-author of “Autism Tsunami: The Impact of Rising Prevalence on the Societal Cost of Autism in the United States”:

“How long is the U.S. public health establishment going to keep pretending there isn’t a problem? An ASD rate of 3.2% nationwide among children aged 8 years in 2022, 4.9% for boys, 5.3% in California, 4.7% in Pennsylvania and autism rates a full percentage point higher in Asian and Black communities than in White communities — this is beyond an epidemic.”

• Autism rates are also rising among younger children — The CDC report also looked at 4-year-olds and found autism rates were rising in this age group — 1.7 times higher for those born in 2018 compared to those born in 2014. In some states, younger kids already have higher autism rates than older ones, which suggests things are not slowing down.

• The most glaring omission in the CDC report? Any mention of environmental factors. Despite a long list of known or suspected environmental risks, such as heavy metals like aluminum and mercury, glyphosate exposure, acetaminophen use during pregnancy, and even industrial pollutants like lead and arsenic, the risks of exposure to these environmental causes are ignored.

• Kennedy’s focus isn’t just on the numbers — It’s on what those numbers actually mean for you, your kids, and your future. He frames autism as a preventable condition as opposed to being a mysterious or inherited issue, and by doing so, he shifts the attention toward causes that must be addressed.

“Autism destroys families,” he said in an AP News article. “More importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. These are children who should not be suffering like this.”

• Kennedy is determined to pinpoint the environmental causes — Unlike many officials before him, Kennedy is making it clear that his team won’t shy away from controversial or politically inconvenient causes. He says his department will award research grants to universities and scientists willing to look into all environmental variables.

“The researchers will be encouraged to ‘follow the science, no matter what it says,’” he said. This is a major shift from the previous administration, which actually canceled billions in scientific grants, and stalled research in this area.

• Another overlooked point? The demographic breakdown — The featured study highlights that autism rates are especially high among Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Black children.⁶ If you’re part of these communities, you deserve to know why your children are being diagnosed more often than others — and what, if anything, can be done to prevent that.

• Kennedy is setting a firm deadline for at least some answers — He told reporters his department will release findings by September. “By then, his department will determine at least ‘some’ of the answers,” according to the AP News article.⁷ That urgency is rare in government, and it signals a shift toward real accountability. If the goal is to pinpoint preventable factors, then you’re not just left waiting — you’ll actually know what steps to take.

• Not everyone agrees with calling autism preventable — As expected, Kennedy’s position raised eyebrows. Autism Science Foundation Chief Science Officer Dr. Alycia Halladay insisted the recent spike reflects “changes in factors like access to services and de-stigmatization,”⁸ not environmental damage.

• Autism is a response to environmental exposure, not just genetics — Herbert, whose two children struggled with symptoms of autism when they were young, hypothesizes that autism is not something you’re born with. It’s something you develop in response to environmental factors like mercury, electromagnetic fields (EMFs), and glyphosate.

• Environmental triggers lead to brain irritability, increasing autism risk — These factors contribute to irritability in the brain, and the risk of autism could be predicted by looking at the level of irritability. “There are 10,000 different ways to injure mitochondria. It all piles up. All these little seemingly innocuous exposures add to the pile, so they all matter,” Herbert says.

• Processed food is another major contributor — “Simply reducing allergens in the mother’s diet from preconception to pregnancy is a really big deal,” she says.

• Anecdotal evidence links EMF exposure to autism, and efforts are underway to collect more data — There are many anecdotal stories from families with autistic children suggesting EMF causes problems, and Herbert and Sullivan are working on setting up an online database to capture this data.

• EMF exposure is associated with mitochondrial damage and several brain disorders — EMFs lead to significant mitochondrial dysfunction due to free radical damage. When you’re chronically exposed to these EMF sources, it triggers not just autism but other brain-related conditions as well, like Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression.

• Reducing exposure to magnetic fields in the home is one of Sullivan’s key strategies — In his experience, getting rid of magnetic fields such as transformers and power boxes and cleaning up dirty electricity were most helpful. Appliances like your refrigerator are another common source; either turn the appliance off or move further away from it. With each doubling of the distance, you reduce your exposure by about 75%, he says.

• Creating an EMF-free sleep environment is crucial for restoring quality rest — Sullivan also recommends cleaning up your bedroom and removing EMF sources. In fact, one of the most common symptoms of excessive EMF exposure is sleep disruption. “I like to make sure people create space for themselves — kind of an electronic-free zone — around their beds,” he says.

• Dr. Martin Pall also identified a biological mechanism through which EMFs damage the brain — Pall discovered that microwaves emitted by cellphones and other wireless technologies harm your brain through voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) located in your cell membranes.

VGCCs are highly concentrated in the brain, and animal studies have demonstrated that even low levels of microwave EMFs produce significant and diverse effects on brain function. When EMFs activate these VGCCs, it results in a variety of neuropsychiatric issues.

1. Remove all seed oils from your home — The most overlooked toxin in our modern diets is hidden in plain sight — industrial seed oils. These oils (like soybean, canola, sunflower, and safflower) are in nearly every processed food and restaurant meal.

They’re extremely high in linoleic acid (LA), which has been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and increased vulnerability to environmental damage. If you’re feeding young children, removing these oils is one of the most important steps for you to take. Use grass fed butter, ghee, or tallow instead.

2. Filter your water and avoid glyphosate-contaminated foods — Glyphosate, the main ingredient in the Roundup herbicide, is showing up in everything from cereals to baby food. It disrupts the gut microbiome, impairs detox pathways, and has been named repeatedly by researchers as a possible environmental driver of neurological disorders. Install a high-quality water filter that removes glyphosate and other agricultural chemicals.

Choose organic produce whenever possible, especially for the foods your kids eat the most. If you’re on a budget, prioritize organic versions of the produce in the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) “Dirty Dozen” list.

3. Stop using acetaminophen during pregnancy and infancy — The CDC may not be talking about this, but research and parental reports have long linked acetaminophen (Tylenol) use in early life with neurological changes.

It depletes glutathione, your body’s master detoxifier, at the exact time your baby’s brain is developing. If you’re pregnant or have a young child, don’t assume this drug is harmless. There are other ways to manage pain or fever that don’t compromise long-term neurological health.

4. Avoid aluminum-containing injections during early development — If you are a parent considering the current childhood jab schedule, you must understand what’s being introduced into your child’s body during their most fragile stages of brain development. Many of these shots contain aluminum-based adjuvants — additives used to stimulate immune response.

5. Create a low-toxin home environment for brain safety — Your home is your child’s first ecosystem. That means everything from scented candles and cleaning sprays to heavy metals in cookware could play a role in disrupting development. Start by removing anything synthetic or fragranced — air fresheners, dryer sheets, cleaning wipes. Switch to glass, stainless steel, and cast iron in your kitchen.

Dust regularly, since toxins like flame retardants and microplastics accumulate in household dust. Your child’s brain is building connections rapidly in the first few years — eliminating toxins from their immediate surroundings gives them the strongest foundation possible.