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Autism Experts Strike an Independent Committee to Counter Federal Panel
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/autism-experts-strike-independent-committee-counter-federal-2026a10006m1A group of leading autism researchers has struck an independent advisory committee to respond to non-evidence-based claims about the condition by a long-standing federal panel.
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The I-ACC was formed to push back against what members see as dangerous claims about autism's causes and treatments that have come from the administration over the past year, said Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD, professor emerita at Boston University, and a member of the new group.
In January, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr appointed 21 all-new members to the federal IACC, several of whom have promoted vaccines as a cause of autism or endorsed potentially harmful therapies, Tager-Flusberg said. The independent I-ACC was formed shortly thereafter, she told Medscape Medical News.
"Kennedy's reconstituted IACC is clearly designed to promote an agenda antithetical to evidence-based policy and practice," said David Mandell, ScD, associate director of the Center for Autism Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a former IACC member, in a statement to Medscape Medical News. "We hope that the I-ACC will offer an antidote," he added.
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The goal is to serve as a near real-time counterpoint to the federal panel's discussions, said Tager-Flusberg said.
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. . .
The I-ACC was formed to push back against what members see as dangerous claims about autism's causes and treatments that have come from the administration over the past year, said Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD, professor emerita at Boston University, and a member of the new group.
In January, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr appointed 21 all-new members to the federal IACC, several of whom have promoted vaccines as a cause of autism or endorsed potentially harmful therapies, Tager-Flusberg said. The independent I-ACC was formed shortly thereafter, she told Medscape Medical News.
"Kennedy's reconstituted IACC is clearly designed to promote an agenda antithetical to evidence-based policy and practice," said David Mandell, ScD, associate director of the Center for Autism Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a former IACC member, in a statement to Medscape Medical News. "We hope that the I-ACC will offer an antidote," he added.
. . .
The goal is to serve as a near real-time counterpoint to the federal panel's discussions, said Tager-Flusberg said.
. . .
I think this is an excellent counter to the con artists in this administration. I think more "shadow" committees and even cabinet-level organizations should be formed.