Tag: autism

Dutch doctors euthanized an autistic teen. Why some say that should be a ‘wake-up call’ for Canada

Four-and-a-half years after he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a Dutch teen was euthanized at his request.

The boy, aged between 16 and 18, had described his life as “joyless.” He’d struggled with anxiety and mood-related problems, and where he fit in, in the world. Oversensitive to stimuli, “every day was an ordeal he had to get through,” according to the latest annual report from the Netherlands’ regional euthanasia death review committees. “In the final weeks before his death, he lay in bed the whole time.”

Despite his young age, his doctor had “no doubts whatsoever” that the youth had the mental capacity to appreciate what he was seeking, and that there was no prospect of improvement, according to the case report.

His death, part of a dramatic increase in psychiatric euthanasia in the Netherlands in recent years, should serve as a warning to Canada as a special parliamentary committee reconvenes to assess the country’s readiness to permit MAID on the sole basis of mental suffering, a prominent Canadian psychiatrist says.

The Dutch experience “should be taken as a wake-up call,” said Dr. Sonu Gaind, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and a past president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association.

“The threshold (for assisted death) in Canada is actually lower than the Netherlands,” Gaind said. “If MAID for sole mental illness is opened up in Canada, the numbers would significantly exceed what you see in the Netherlands.”

Proponents of MAID for mental suffering have long held the Netherlands out as a model — “no slippery slope there” — arguing that psychiatric euthanasia in Canada, like the Netherlands, would remain extremely rare.

However, the Dutch situation suggests a more appropriate metaphor for the risks of medically assisted suicide for mental illness “is not a slippery slope but a runaway train,” as Charles Lane reported last week in The Atlantic.

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The CDC Was Ordered to Prove the DTaP Vaccine Didn’t Cause Autism… but Their Only Study Showed it Did

For decades, the question of whether vaccines are linked to autism has remained one of the most contentious and widely debated issues in public health.

While major health agencies have maintained that vaccines are safe, critics have continued to scrutinize the data, pointing to gaps, unanswered questions, and the historical record of how these concerns were first investigated.

A video circulating online features attorney Aaron Siri discussing the historical roots of vaccine-related debates, focusing specifically on the pertussis vaccine rather than the more commonly cited MMR vaccine.

According to the caption, Siri traces the issue back to the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, which directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study a list of injuries that had been frequently reported in connection with the pertussis vaccine. Among those listed for investigation was autism.

In the clip, Siri describes how the Institute of Medicine (IOM) was tasked with reviewing available research on the topic. He notes that in 1991, the IOM concluded it could not determine whether the pertussis vaccine caused or did not cause autism due to a lack of sufficient studies.

He then points to a later review commissioned by the CDC and HRSA in 2012, stating that the IOM reached a similar conclusion after examining the broader body of scientific literature.

According to Siri, the IOM reported that it could not find studies demonstrating that the pertussis vaccine does not cause autism, and that the only study identified showing an association was ultimately excluded because it did not include an unvaccinated comparison group.

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MORE FRAUD: Colorado Made at Least $77.8 MILLION in Improper Autism Therapy Payments

A new federal audit has identified significant improper payments within Colorado’s Medicaid-funded autism therapy system, adding to a growing pattern of oversight failures in public healthcare spending. 

The findings, released by the Office of Inspector General, focus on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), one of the most widely used therapies for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

ABA therapy is designed to improve communication, social interaction, and behavioral functioning, and it has become a central component of autism treatment nationwide. 

As demand has increased, so has government spending. In Colorado, fee-for-service Medicaid payments for ABA rose sharply from $60.1 million in 2019 to $163.5 million in 2023. That rapid expansion, however, has not been matched by adequate oversight.

The audit examined Medicaid payments made in 2022 and 2023 and found systemic noncompliance with federal and state requirements. 

Every single one of the 100 sampled enrollee-months reviewed included at least one claim that was either improper or likely improper. That finding alone signals a structural issue rather than isolated billing errors.

Improper payments in this context do not necessarily mean intentional fraud in every instance, but they do indicate that providers billed for services that were not properly documented, not eligible under program rules, or not supported by sufficient clinical justification. 

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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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