In January, toymaker Mattel released the first-ever autistic Barbie doll. She wears a loose purple dress and headphones. Her eyes are slightly averted and she is holding a communications tablet and a fidget spinner – all trappings that represent some of the different ways autistic people perceive the world.
The doll, designed with the expertise of people with autism, invites more children – and adults, for that matter – to see parts of themselves in the iconic doll. As any child who has ever played pretend with a doll knows, stories can entertain us, captivate us, soothe us, and frighten us. They shape the way we see others and ourselves.
Stories can also cause damage by creating false and harmful stereotypes.
Throughout 2025, senior U.S. government officials told a darker story about autism, one that distorted and ignored scientific data that did not fit their narratives. In April, for example, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report estimated that approximately 1 in 31 children in the United States are diagnosed with autism before the age of 8. This is a significant figure, which has increased significantly in recent decades. For reference, in 2000 this figure was 1 in 150. Most researchers attribute which result in increased awareness of autism spectrum disorders, more frequent screenings, and changes in the way autism is categorized.
But at a news conference, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used those numbers to tell a different story. He called the growing rate of children with autism, a brain development disorder characterized by problems with social communication and other behaviors, an alarming epidemic, one that is “tearing families apart.” Kennedy continued: “These are kids who will never pay taxes, never hold a job, never play baseball. They will never write a poem, never date. Many of them will never use the bathroom without help.”
This type of language does two things. This reduces the wide and varied experiences of autistic people to a harmful and negative stereotype, which highlights, in emotional terms, what people cannot do. Some autistic people need a lot of help throughout their day. But Kennedy uses these needs as a rhetorical tool to arouse pity and fear. More insidiously, this narrative pushes the idea that a person must do things – like pay taxes or write poetry – to maintain value.
“Pity and dehumanization are very closely linked,” says Noor Pervez, community engagement manager at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a nonprofit based in Washington, DC. “Viewing the lives of autistic people as something to be afraid of ignores the root of what makes being autistic difficult for many people: ableism. » Discriminatory beliefs or behaviors still shape our society in ways that people don’t get the help they need.
As 2025 progressed, the administration changed course more stories. At a September press conference, Kennedy and President Donald Trump claimed – without any scientific evidence – that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, caused autism. A careful evaluation of existing datapublished on January 16 in the Lancet: Obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health found no association between maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or intellectual disability.
At that same press conference, Kennedy and Trump also announced that a drug, leucovorin, could treat autism. Leucovorin is a version of folinic acid, used to counteract the harmful side effects of cancer treatments. A few small studies suggest the drug may benefit people with autism, perhaps by increasing folinic acid levels in the brain. But for now, without larger, well-designed studies, the evidence is scant. The proclamations came anyway. “We’re going to save a lot of children from a difficult life, a really difficult life,” Trump said in the announcement. “We are going to save a lot of parents from a difficult life.”
Then there’s the false link between vaccines and autism, a cacophonous explosion of misinformation that’s growing louder and louder. There is no link between vaccines and autism, despite many careful studies looking for one. Yet, as of November 20, the official CDC webpage on autism and vaccines edited to deny existing science. It now reads: “The statement that ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based statement…”
These false narratives add up to promote the idea that a parent’s choice — taking Tylenol while pregnant, getting their child vaccinated — sets the stage for disaster, a “tragedy” for their family. Overall, these claims contribute to an incredibly harmful story.
Alison Singer clearly exposes the damage that this framing causes. She is co-founder and president of the Autism Science Foundation. “The idea that vaccines cause autism is not only scientifically false, but it is also deeply stigmatizing for autistic people and their families,” she said during a press briefing held in response to the changes to the CDC website. “This implies that autistic lives are less valuable.”
When we look at recent news about autism, it’s easy to see the outrage, distortions, and fear. But here is the beauty of a story. We can choose which ones we hear.
A different perspective emerged at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego in November. In it, a panel of experts described some of the latest rigorous research into autism. This includes efforts to diagnose autism in often overlooked people, including girls, adults, and people of color.
The panelists also explained why it is important to provide support to children as early as possible. Developmental psychologist Jed Elison of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis described some of the big changes that occur in the brains of babies and young children. “Because it’s a time of great plasticity, it’s also a time of opportunity to help these kids get on the right track,” he said. The goal is “to provide the right support to the right children, at the right time.”
As this more optimistic framework makes clear, the more we understand what is possible for autistic people, the wider the world becomes for all of us.
Don’t discount the joy here, Shafali Jeste, a UCLA child behavioral neurologist, said at the Society for Neuroscience meeting. “Yes, there are challenges, no doubt about that.” But these challenges are not everything. “[These children] They also bring a tremendous amount of joy,” she said. “They teach people to be compassionate. They raise awareness of differences.
These stories – of people living their lives, of children playing, of helpers seeking to make the world a better place for their neighbors – hold immense power. This is why Autistic Barbie is important. It’s time to play.