Verbatim: Autism advocacy rules

This Verbatim is from a 2003 JAMA editorial by Eric Fombonne, in which he is writing about "claims about an epidemic of autism and its putative causes." More generally, this quote highlights the pervasive success of autism advocacy in imposing the lowest possible standards of science and ethics on autistics:

Yet, ironically, what has triggered substantial social policy changes appears to have little connection with the state of the science. Whether this will continue to be the case in the future remains to be seen, but further consideration should be given to how and why the least evidence-based claims have achieved such impressive changes in funding policy.

Reference:

Fombonne, E. (2003). The prevalence of autism. JAMA, 289, 87-89.