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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Politics
Ed Pilkington

‘So much fringe science’: RFK Jr’s advisers are pushing an extreme makeover in autism research

Autism IACC Robert F. Kennedy Jr Donald Trump United States ASAN FDA NPR
Collage of Robert F Kennedy, a child wearing noise-blocking headphones and logos of Autism organizations
The strategic plan is the work of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), which Kennedy overhauled in January by replacing experts with his handpicked anti-vaccine advocates. Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/IACC

Autism groups and researchers have reacted with alarm to a federal research roadmap drawn up by advisers handpicked by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, fearing it will promote unproven fringe therapies at the expense of promising genetic research.

A slew of scientific bodies and groups within the autism community are warning that the 336-page plan risks deflecting federal dollars away from potentially groundbreaking genetic research in favor of unreliable alternative therapies.

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