Five Views of Autism

Let’s be honest: autism research doesn’t exactly operate on a 24-hour news cycle. Meaningful findings take years—sometimes decades—to emerge, and it’s an ongoing challenge to help the public and policymakers understand why long-term investment is necessary. Translating slow, incremental science into everyday understanding requires patience and persistent communication. Meanwhile, a bigger storm is brewing: with talk of eliminating the Department of Education, foundational federal laws like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) could be at serious risk. If the DOE disappears, the enforcement and support systems many families depend on might vanish with it. The stakes are high—not just for progress in research, but for preserving real protections and rights for autistic people in a world that already asks them to wait long enough.