Autism News Update: the ‘Profound’ Label &, Communication Rights

Podcast: The David Kaufer Podcast: The Lighter Side of the Spectrum · David Kaufer

Opublikowano: 2026-05-15

David and producer/co-host David Yas recap recent autism-community developments after Autism Acceptance Month, focusing on the new Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) meeting under HHS Secretary RFK Jr., who replaced prior members and appointed fewer autistic members overall, including non-speaking advocates Elizabeth Bonker and Caden Larson. The IACC discussed and passed a recommendation to recognize the term “profound autism” for high-support-needs autistic people, despite objections from Bonker and Larson and concerns that the label could reduce expectations, opportunities, and access to communication supports, especially given apraxia and evolving abilities. They question whether the term mainly redirects federal research fund...