“Rising ADHD and Autism Rates Reflect Education — Not a Crisis”

The Make America Healthy Again Commission calls autism and ADHD “health burdens” whose rising rates of diagnosis “pose a dire threat to the American people and our way of life.” This alarmist rhetoric around neurodivergence — from President Donald Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy, Jr., and others in positions of tremendous power and influence — has set up a dangerous premise: that being autistic, ADHD, or otherwise neurodivergent is a problem, and that higher diagnosis rates signal a crisis in need of drastic intervention.In reality, there is no crisis.The rise in diagnoses reflects a long-overdue recognition of neurodivergence — particularly among girls, women, and people of color who were historically overlooked — rather than a sudden explosion in neurodivergent individuals.FREE WEBINAR ON APRIL 30:Understanding AuDHD Burnout: How Neurodivergent Masking Sparks Stress, Exhaustion with Amy Marschall, Psy.D.

My own neurodivergence was overlooked for many years. As a child, the only label my brain was ever given was “gifted.” At the same time, I struggled with sensory overload, social exhaustion, and the inability to complete simple tasks despite excelling in areas that schools valued.

Yet, like many high-achieving girls, my difficulties were attributed to personality quirks rather than neurological differences.It wasn’t until adulthood, while seeking evaluations for my own children, that I saw myself in the screening questions and research, leading to my own diagnoses of ADHD and autism.