Autism and ADHD Rates: What’s Going On?
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ADHD and Autism Rhetoric in the Political Sphere
As a human with ADHD and a therapist who works with clients diagnosed with Autism and/or ADHD, I am concerned about the remarks made by President Trump and the Health and Human Services Director, RFK Jr.
Trump and RFK Jr. (and Elon Musk) speak about topics where they seemingly enjoy flouting their ignorance and bias, more than my psychological well-being and word count could wrangle within one blog.
So I’ll focus on their talking points about Autism / ADHD in connection to eugenics and how we should all be concerned and push back.
Dissecting Bias, Semantics, & Language
These white-collar white men have repeated a statistic about the rate of Autism several times from the “Make America Healthy Again” Executive Order and Trump’s address to Congress on March 4, 2025.
“Make America Healthy Again” states,
“Autism spectrum disorder now affects 1 in 36 children in the United States — a staggering increase from rates of 1 to 4 out of 10,000 children identified with the condition during the 1980s.”
I love semantics so let’s take a detour to note the eugenics coded language these non-healthcare professionals are using.
Merriam Webster dictionary defines eugenics as,
“the practice or advocacy of controlled selective breeding of human populations (as by sterilization) to improve the populations' genetic composition.”
Eugenics has never disappeared, or society has not yet evolved enough because today eugenics is a sister to ableism: “discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities” (Merriam Webster).
Quick History Recap (From a Non-Historian)
Eugenics is typically associated with Nazi Germany in World War II as Jews, Romani, disabled, and LGBTQ+ individuals were sent to concentration camps and killed with the intent to create a “better race.”
It is relevant to recall that the Hitler and his gaggle of anti-science white men drew inspiration to rid the world of “undesirables” from the United States eugenicist policy playbook towards Native Americans, African Americans (ADOS: African Descendants of Slaves), disabled people, and people who were unlucky to be born in an economically depressed area.
Disabled Black women were especially subjected (and continue to be oppressed) by the unjustness of these racist, sexist, ableist policies; I strongly recommend reading: “Killing the Black Body” by Dorothy Roberts and “Fearing the Black Body” by Sabrina Strings for a deeper dive into this history.
One tactic of eugenics includes forced sterilization; it is still legal to forcibly sterilize disabled women in the United States under one legal precedent, Buck v. Bell; in 1927 a judge famously declared, “three generations of imbeciles is enough” (Roberts).
Eugenicists believe they have the power to determine the reproductive rights of women to reproduce; including forced sterilization or forced abortions regardless of the woman’s interest, choice, or preference.
As I write this in 2025 in the United States, some women are forced into pregnancy and birth (given the loss of Roe v. Wade) while other women are forcibly sterilized or receive government mandated abortions (Buck v. Bell has never been overturned: check SCOTUS Kavanaugh’s record on forced abortions).
Why Do Eugenicists Cling to Irony?
While this blog is about ADHD and Autism, I cannot omit the serious connections to ongoing eugenics and irony from pro-life advocates seeking to increase the birth rate and protect the rights of a fetus while conveniently bypassing the rights and self-determination of a pregnant person.
Women, people with uterus, or the gift of a life portal, are not reproduction factories: they are human beings.
While groups of people call for increasing the birth rate in the U.S. or seeking to impose religious beliefs on un-consenting persons, the pro-life argument does not get referenced when a disabled woman wants to have a child.
Calls for increasing the birth rate are coded in the eugenicist framework that there is a “right” type of person who can reproduce and a “wrong” type of person who can reproduce.
Any guesses on who is deemed “right” and “wrong” to reproduce?
Historically, Black women and disabled women have been deemed “wrong” to reproduce; this treatment extends to other disabled women of color as well. It’s worth familiarizing oneself with advocates and survivors like Fannie Lou Hammer (Women Who Made History).
All of that to say: eugenics is not a Nazi invention; eugenics is as American as apple pie.
Everyone must fight back against eugenics rhetoric, including ones related to infectious diseases and calls for “survival of the fittest” whether it is COVID or measles.
Back to ADHD and Autism:
Semantics: The “Make America Healthy Again” EO calls the increase of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) “staggering.”
Why is this increase “staggering?” Staggering is defined as: “to cause to doubt or hesitate: perplex.”
Is the administration perplexed by the increase of people who wear glasses now compared to forty years ago? Or by the increase of braces in youth since the 1980’s?
No, because those medical interventions are less biased or taboo than mental health disorders.
Another phrase that stood out to in the EO was, “children identified with the condition;” condition? “Condition” is not a full red flag but it is an orange flag in the context of the rest of the EO: condition can often imply a negative state, or a problem. ASD is a mental health diagnosis — not a condition or burden.
Along with ADHD, Autism likely has benefits to our species: researchers hypothesize that people with ADHD may have been better berry pickers and back in hunting-gathering days, being a good berry picker was helpful for survival (Barack, Ludwig, Parodi, Ahme, Brannon, Ramakrishnan, & Platt, 2024).
Science is a process that is constantly evolving and incorporating new research.
The DSM-5 TR (Diagnostic Statistical Manual; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2022) changes every few years to reflect updated research: our understanding of health should change over time because that means humans are learning more and, ideally, improving our understanding of the human experience and promoting well-being. The EO also states,
“These health burdens have continued to increase alongside the increased prescription of medication. For example, in the case of Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, over 3.4 million children are now on medication for the disorder — up from 3.2 million children in 2019-2020 — and the number of children being diagnosed with the condition continues to rise.”
As we wrap up semantics, the phrase “health burdens” is eugenicist. Autistics and people with ADHD are not burdens.
I revere my ADHD diagnosis; I wish I received it before my late twenties and I’m glad I didn’t have to wait any longer.
Do Vaccines Cause Autism or ADHD?
No. They do not.
The original researcher who made this claim was discovered to have misrepresented data in a published journal article which was later redacted by the journal in which it was published; he conducted biased research and lied about the results to support his personal belief.
Unfortunately, people cling to bad ideas like a bad habit.
Vaccines do not cause Autism or ADHD.
Even if a vaccine did cause ADHD or Autism, the benefits of a vaccine which include a decrease risk of preventable infectious diseases that can lead to lifelong disability or death outweigh the risk.
It’s odd how pro-life arguments promote forced birth and anti-vaccine sentiments while letting infectious diseases risk death or disability of children, adults, elders, immunosuppressed peoples, or pregnant persons (e.g., measles is especially risky to pregnant persons and the fetus and can cause blindness, deafness, or fetal death).
The birth rate may increase with a forced birth (pro-life) mandate though as people continue to ignore how vaccines help keep children alive for longer… what progress is society actually making?
Why Does Trump Reminisce the 1980’s?
“Make America Healthy Again” referenced the 1980’s as a marker for… health (?) based on the rates of Autism or ADHD, as if the 1980’s in the United States has no association with widespread cocaine use and other substances.
Perhaps it is unwise to look back at the 1980’s as a reference for peak mental health in the United States.
Another historical context tidbit: the 1980’s marked the end of institutionalization, which kept disabled people away from their families and community in isolated, poorly funded institutions where individuals could not refuse treatment and were subjected to abuse.
Asylums, or mental health institutions such as Willowbrook or Pennhurst, were ripe with abuse and mistreatment of disabled children and adults: the 1980’s ushered a new era of disabled people no longer being sheltered away from the public eye: that was a move towards progress.
Was the transition from deinstitutionalization perfect? Absolutely not.
Was it progress? Absolutely yes.
It’s sensible that people were incentivized NOT to be diagnosed with Autism or ADHD (or other mental health disorders) around the 1980’s: there were horror stories of being sent away to an institution and losing rights.
Who would willingly sign up for that?
RFK Jr. calling to send people with ADHD to work camps reminds me of institutions: that’s a lesson that does not need to be repeated.
Related: how does RFK Jr. expect unmedicated people with ADHD to get anything done? Has he ever spoken to people in the ADHD community? Difficulty completing or finishing tasks is one of the diagnostic criteria (APA, 2022).
The 1980’s were a turning point for mental health awareness, treatment, disability rights, social attitudes towards disability (including Autism and ADHD), and the basic inclusion of disabled people in society; the 1980’s were not a pinnacle of absolute knowledge on mental health disorders.
What’s Changed Since the 1980’s?
The documented rates of Autism and ADHD reflect decades of successful public health campaigns and advocacy to improve human health and well-being:
Increased access to healthcare providers, especially mental healthcare workers
Increase awareness of mental health symptoms and disorders in youth and adults
Development of reliable screening tools and including those in school settings, like other health screenings
The initial onset and early years of the COVID-19 pandemic was unique: the increase in telehealth or virtual care helped people connect with healthcare professionals who were not able to seek this service prior
What Does This All Mean?
The true rates for ADHD and Autism are likely still undercounted. Calling these diagnoses a “burden” is a regressive uninformed take.
ADHD and Autism have been around since hunting-gathering days because it is part of the human experience.
“Everybody is a little ADHD,” No they are not.
People with ADHD are a little-lot ADHD. If symptoms of ADHD seem common, that means it may be worth seeing a mental healthcare provider to assess for a diagnosis.
There are no calls to stop screening citizens for cancer, vision impairment, hearing, scoliosis, or asthma.
Going Forward:
Refuse remarks that minimize the visibility of mental health disorders and disability.
Push back against calls to further stigmatize ADHD, Autism, and other mental health disorders.
Fight against actions which seek to take away civil rights from disabled people, because that will be worse for everyone.
Educate yourself and others on the history of eugenics and the contemporary version of ableism.
Continue to engage with Autistics and people with ADHD: they are your community.
Knowledge is power: seek more power.
Suggested reading and resources:
- Disability Visibility, Edited by Alice Wong
- Killing the Black Body, Dorothy Roberts
- Fearing the Black Body, Sabrina Strings
- On Tyranny, T. Snyder
- How to Hide an Empire, D. Immerwahr
Social media accounts to learn about disability:
- Imani Perry @crutches_and_spice
- Alice Wong @disability_visibility
About the Author:
Nicole Zegiestowsky, M.S. (she/her) is a pre-licensed therapist at Stellar Insight Counseling with a master’s in clinical psychology from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. In her free time Nicole enjoys getting outside, ice skating, reading, or brainstorming next year’s garden.
Read more from Nicole on the Stellar Insight Counseling Mental Health Blog.
If you live in Alaska and are seeking a new therapist, contact Nicole for a free 20-minute initial consultation and schedule an appointment.
References:
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Neurodevelopmental disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).
Barack, Ludwig, Parodi, Ahme, Brannon, Ramakrishnan, & Platt. (2024). Attention deficits linked with proclivity to explore while foraging. Proc. R. Soc. B.29120222584 http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.2584
Roberts, D. E. (1997). Killing the black body: Race, reproduction, and the meaning of liberty. Pantheon Books