Tag: autism

Audits Spotlight Unusual Trends In Medicaid Spending For Autism Care

One in 31 U.S. children has an autism diagnosis. Among Minnesota’s Somali community, that number jumps to one in 12.

That discrepancy made headlines last fall when the Department of Justice charged a Somali woman with netting millions in fraudulent autism services.

Now, state and federal investigators are putting autism spending in the spotlight.

The September 2025 federal indictment alleged that a therapy center—run by 28-year-old Asha Farhan Hassan—recruited Somali children for an autism services program that was then reimbursed by Medicaid.

The White House pointed to the indictment on March 16 in an executive order announcing the creation of a federal task force to eliminate fraud.

“The staggering fraud and waste in Minnesota alone is a case in point,”  the order reads.

“There is also strong reason to believe that similar problems exist in other States, including California, Illinois, New York, Maine, and Colorado.”

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Minnesota Audit: State Agency ‘Accidentally’ Blocked Kickback Investigation Into Autism Services

A state agency erred when it blocked autism-services kickbacks from being investigated—a decision based on the agency’s flawed, decades-old definition of “fraud,” according to a Minnesota audit released March 17.

That was the key finding of the state’s Office of Legislative Auditor, a state watchdog that conducted a two-year special review. The autism-services program that auditors examined is among many health and welfare benefits that Minnesota’s Department of Human Services runs or oversees.

For months, Minnesota has been a focal point for government-program fraud that could total billions of dollars, with dozens of people, mostly Somalis, having been charged and convicted since 2022. Additional schemes emerged late last year and remain under investigation, with more charges expected, prosecutors have said.

Concerns about fraud have recently expanded nationwide. On March 16, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating an anti-fraud task force. Saying that other states such as California and New York may have fraud problems that are worse than Minnesota’s, the president directed Vice President JD Vance and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson to root out fraud in federally funded social services and welfare programs.

During the Minnesota audit, investigators told auditors that they believed they lacked “authority to investigate allegations of kickbacks” in the autism program without additional claims of “fraud, theft, abuse, or error.”

The department’s fraud definition, set in 1995, failed to specifically include “kickbacks.” Those are payments or “anything of value” to induce referrals to providers of federally funded health care—a practice that is illegal under federal law, the report noted.

Auditors opined that the department had misapplied or misinterpreted a rule that includes that fraud definition. The agency had the power to amend the rule and correct an erroneous federal-law citation “without any legislative action,” the report stated.

“Had [the department] done so at any point since 1995, it would have had clear authority to suspend payments” to providers who were strongly suspected in kickback schemes, according to the report.

Auditors recommended that the agency amend its fraud definition “to clearly include kickbacks”—or lawmakers should do so, the report says.

James Clark, inspector general for the state Department of Human Services, said the department agrees with that recommendation.

However, in his written response appended to the report, Clark said the standard rulemaking process could take a year or two to complete, unless officials or lawmakers agree to fast-track it.

The autism-services program, which has operated in Minnesota since 2013, aims to provide “early intervention” for autism-diagnosed patients who are under age 21.

Under the program, providers receive reimbursement for services rendered.

Federal prosecutors have brought charges against at least two people for alleged autism-services fraud in Minnesota.

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RFK Jr. Blows the Whistle on $400M Autism Fraud Scheme in Minnesota

Acting HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience for the first time since taking his new role, and he did not shy away from detailing the fraud he says he uncovered after finally stepping into a position of power.

With Medicaid and Medicare alone, Kennedy said, “We lose just on Medicaid and Medicare, $100 billion a year. And it’s all just this, really, ya know, shocking, blatant fraud.”

As HHS Secretary, Kennedy described an industrialized scheme operating out of Florida, where P.O. boxes were set up for companies claiming to sell durable medical equipment like knee braces and wheelchairs.

But there’s one small problem: “They don’t have any knee braces or wheelchairs.”

However, they do have patient identification numbers.

Those ID numbers are used to bill the government for equipment that never ships. Kennedy said many of these schemes are operating out of countries like Cuba or Russia.

He then pointed to another staggering example: Los Angeles has more hospice care providers than the entire rest of the country COMBINED.

How is that possible? That’s because “it’s all fraudulent,” Kennedy said.

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Another Blue-State Disaster: Maine Lets Fraudsters Feast on Autism Funds

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz has expanded a federal fraud crackdown to Maine, citing significant concerns identified by Health and Human Services investigators in the state’s autism services program.

Oz disclosed the findings in a video posted to X, outlining the results of a recent review conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The announcement follows similar investigations into fraud patterns identified in Minnesota, California, and Nevada involving Medicaid-funded programs, including hospice care and autism treatment services.

In the video, Oz said Maine’s program showed warning signs similar to those previously identified elsewhere.

“We might have another ‘Minnesota’ on our hands,” Oz said.

Oz referenced the earlier Minnesota case involving autism services.

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Scientists Publish ‘Map’ for How Aluminum in Vaccines Can Cause Brain Injury That Triggers Autism

Aluminum adjuvants in vaccines can and likely do cause autism in genetically susceptible babies and children, according to a new scientific review of over 200 peer-reviewed studies.

The review, led by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) Chief Scientific Officer Brian Hooker, lays out the biochemical and physiological framework that explains how aluminum-containing vaccines can cause autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Hooker and his co-authors concluded that “mechanistic, neuropathological, epidemiological, and genetic evidence” show that aluminum adjuvants “can trigger ASD in genetically susceptible individuals” by causing inflammation of the brain.

They published their report on Jan. 31 on the preprint server Zenodo. They plan to submit the paper to a peer-reviewed journal in the near future.

Review refutes claim that ‘vaccines do not cause autism’

Hooker called the report “groundbreaking” because it scientifically explains the causal link between vaccines and autism that “has been denied and dismissed for over 30 years.”

In November 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finally revised its autism webpage to say there is no evidence supporting the blanket claim that vaccines do not cause autism.

The webpage previously stated there is no link between vaccines and autism and that “vaccines do not cause autism.” It now says: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”

Hooker’s new paper adds weight to the argument that infant vaccines cause autism. Its authors show how the over 200 studies they reviewed collectively meet all nine of the Bradford Hill criteria for causation.

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Supposedly Autistic Woman’s Tale of Being Abused and Arrested by ICE Officers for No Reason Blows Up in Her Face When This Damning Footage Emerges

A left-wing activist’s ‘gutwrenching’ testimony about getting arrested by ICE agents last month has so spectacularly backfired that she might find herself in legal hot water.

Aliyah Rahman, an American citizen and allegedly autistic, told a congressional panel on Tuesday she was on her way to an appointment with Hennepin County’s Traumatic Brain Injury Center last month when she encountered ICE agents supposedly blocking the road and had no way of getting around them.

She then said she was forced to pull into a blocked intersection after an ICE agent allegedly yelled, “Move, I will break your f***ing window!”

Rahman went on to say she received conflicting threats from agents, which confused her. The agents then busted her window and dragged her out of the car.

When Rahman told the agents she was disabled, one agent supposedly replied, “Too late.”

She next described her supposed pain while the cops pulled her away, and then claimed without evidence that she was denied access to medical care.

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Autistic “Barbie” Doll Celebrates Neuropsychiatric Illness Among Children

“Normalization” is a process where something that is not normal is fashioned and presented in a way in which over time the public accepts it as usual and more conducive to business activities. This is exactly what’s happening with autism spectrum disorder. Alter AI is on the assist with this story.

Mattel’s “Autistic Barbie” and the Normalization of Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Mattel has launched its first autistic Barbie doll, part of its ongoing Fashionistas line that promotes “diversity and inclusion.” The doll, unveiled in January 2026, was designed in partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and aims to reflect how autistic individuals experience and process the world. USA Today reports the collaboration lasted over 18 months, involving consultations with self-advocates and researchers to imbue the doll with “authentic” autistic traits rather than caricatures.

The doll’s design elements mirror common sensory experiences among people on the autism spectrum. These include jointed wrists and elbows to allow for stimming (repetitive movements or gestures used to self-regulate), a sidelong gaze to represent aversion to direct eye contact, noise-canceling headphones, a fidget spinner, and a tablet displaying Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) apps used by those with speech or sensory-processing challenges. The outfit—a flowy pinstripe A-line dress—minimizes fabric contact irritation, and flat shoes are meant to promote balance and comfort.

Mattel positions the doll as a celebration of autonomy and inclusion for autistic children, arguing that it allows “young autistic people to see authentic, joyful representations of themselves.” To amplify that message, the company enlisted several social‑media personalities and public figures diagnosed with autism. The rollout echoes previous Barbie releases featuring dolls with Down syndrome, prosthetics, vitiligo, and diabetes—each intended to “mirror the world kids see.”

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Why Did America Stop Talking About Vaccines and Autism?

In 2005, Joe Scarborough said something you would never hear on TV news today.

Speaking with RFK Jr., he legitimized the belief that vaccines CAN cause autism.

“Something happened in 1989!” Scarborough declared firmly.

In his own words, he said: “Parents would CONSTANTLY come to [him], and they’d bring [him] video tapes of their [formerly healthy] children. And they’re all about the age of [Scarborough’s] son or younger. Something happened in 1989!”

Twenty years later, it’s hard to ignore that the mainstream media never airs segments like this anymore.

Did the evidence change… or something else?

Most people have absolutely no idea how much public-relations machinery shapes what they believe about health.

PR campaigns don’t just change opinions, they change language in the process.

And when language changes, memories and ideas seem to disappear—including things we used to openly acknowledge, like vaccine-induced brain inflammation and neurological injury.

Today, those concepts barely exist in public vocabulary, but just decades ago they were recognized everywhere.

The shift happens slowly. That’s how the tactic is so successful. Most people don’t even realize it’s happening.

For example, take a look at this 1983 debate that took place on the largest talk show in America. A conversation like this would never, ever happen on TV today.

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Hep B Shot: Not Proven Safe or Effective for Kids

I. Junk Science Clinical Trials as the Basis for FDA Licensure of Hepatitis B Vaccines in the U.S. 

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will discuss hepatitis B vaccines at their meeting on December 4 and 5. In this article I will lay out the case for removing hepatitis B vaccines from the CDC childhood schedule altogether.

As the Informed Consent Action Network has demonstrated, the hepatitis B vaccines Recombivax and Engerix — injected into the vast majority of American children at birth, one month, and six months of age — never should have been licensed by the FDA in the first place. 

The clinical trials for Recombivax and Engerix:

  • did not include a proper saline placebo control group; 
  • were too small to detect uncommon adverse events; and
  • were too short to detect the majority of harms (the Recombivax trials monitored safety for just five days, the Engerix trials monitored solicited adverse events for just four days).

II. Hepatitis B Vaccines Are Associated with Autism 

The real world data that are available on the safety of hepatitis B vaccines are horrifying. When autism rates in the US exploded in the 1990s, the CDC looked into the possible role of vaccines. They assigned one of their senior scientists, Thomas Verstraeten, at the Epidemic Intelligence Service, to do the analysis. At the time, hepatitis B vaccines had mercury (thimerosal) in them. Dr. Verstraeten found that children in the highest exposure group had an 11.35x increased relative risk of autism.

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The Link Between Transgenderism and Autism

Chloe Cole grew up a tomboy, was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by age 7, and referred for autism screening by age 17.

Cole began identifying as a boy during adolescence and sought physical changes to match.

Doctors readily consented to medical intervention. They prescribed puberty blockers and testosterone at age 13. At 15, surgeons performed a double mastectomy, she told The Epoch Times.

But doctors didn’t address her neurological issues first. The same gender specialist who referred her for breast surgery later referred her for autism screening. Cole has described herself as being on the autism spectrum, but said she was never formally diagnosed.

Cole is now a leading campaigner against interventions to transition children with gender dysphoria.

She said many of those she knew personally when she was involved in the transgender community, as well as many of the detransitioners she knows, “are either somewhere on the autism spectrum, or they have been diagnosed with similar conditions, like ADHD.”

Her observations are increasingly supported by research. For at least a decade, studies have reported links among transgender identity, autism, and other neurological conditions. These connections have recently gained greater public attention.

Growing evidence of an autism–transgender link is already prompting some nations to recommend neurological screening before intervention. In America, the treatment model remains unchanged, and the predominant “affirmation” model makes the link difficult to investigate.

Autism and Gender Dysphoria

A report published this month by the British think tank Centre for Social Justice showed that autism and ADHD were “overrepresented,” or disproportionately high, among youth with gender dysphoria.

​The report, citing data from the UK’s National Health Service, showed 32.4 percent of gender dysphoria referrals had an autism diagnosis, and 11.7 percent had an ADHD diagnosis. ​

Those numbers were 16 times higher than the national population averages for autism, and more than twice as high for ADHD. The population-wide averages for autism and ADHD in the United Kingdom are estimated at 2 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

“Individuals with autism spectrum disorder are far more likely to identify as transgender,” Joseph Nicolosi Jr., a licensed clinical psychologist and researcher in California, told The Epoch Times via email.

A pair of studies conducted in 2016 and 2019 indicate that autistic children are between four and seven times more likely to experience gender dysphoria or gender variance, he said. A 2019 study was conducted by researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and a 2016 study was conducted at New York University.

Nicolosi said there are several reasons for the connection, including “rigid thinking.”

​For example, if a boy with autism lacks stereotypical male interests, he may doubt he is a boy and assume he must be a girl. Reading social cues is often hard for those with autism, so they may perceive same-sex peers as getting along better than they do.

​“This heightens their sense of alienation from their peers,” Nicolosi said.

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