The new politics of autism

Financial Times article "The new politics of autism" by Simon Baron-Cohen (Nov 2025) discussed how rising autism diagnoses have entered political debate, fueled by unsubstantiated claims from figures like Donald Trump and RFK Jr. linking autism to environmental factors (like paracetamol in pregnancy) or vaccines, while also touching on the neurodiversity movement, debates around "overdiagnosis," and how political narratives frame autism as either a societal burden or a complex identity, impacting support and understanding.