The government’s strategic plan for autism just dropped, and it's scarier than we thought

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The government’s strategic plan for autism just dropped, and it's scarier than we thought<br>Send comments to NIH by Thursday, August 20th. Authored by Vanessa McMains, Christa Reynolds, and anonymous 27 UNIHTED members.

27 UNIHTED<br>Aug 18, 2026

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In early July, the newly appointed Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) dropped its new strategic plan.<br>With the help of anonymous experts in the field, we prepared a breakdown of the IACC, its recent politicization, and the newly proposed strategic plan so you can easily comment and let the IACC know how concerned you are about what they’re proposing.<br>Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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Summary of the issue

The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), a group of federal and public members, advises the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) about federal activities related to research on autism spectrum disorder and behavioral interventions. Now, RFK Jr. is using his position as the HHS Secretary to push forward dangerous and unproven theories on autism.<br>Earlier this year, RFK Jr. replaced the public IACC members with political appointees, including anti-vaxxers and doctors from Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!). DAN! is an organization that promotes scientifically unproven, ineffective “treatments” that do more harm than good, like promoting supplements, restrictive diets, “detoxification,” chemical castration, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and vaccine-injury claims.<br>The new members drafted a 336-page “2026-2028 Strategic Plan,” which tells the government what activities the government should use taxpayers’ money to fund. The IACC will vote to adopt their insidious plan at the next meeting on August 27th.<br>What’s in the plan?

Changes to make it easier to institutionalize individuals with autism. People with autism should not be condemned to living in an institution.<br>Research into debunked causes and attempts to “treat” autism. Many community members argue that autism does not need to be treated and instead we must look into better ways to support individuals throughout the autism spectrum. This language stigmatizes these individuals even further by infantilizing them, which can lead to negative treatment and perpetuate stereotypes of these individuals.<br>Shifts where funds for autism go. Essentially, the proposed plan puts autism research back 20 years by investigating topics that already received substantial exploration. These plans may take away funding for credible research, giving federal priority to a set of biomedical mechanisms whose relevance to autism, symptom regression, and treatment remain unsubstantiated, or even disproven, time and time again.<br>What can you do?

You’ve got two days to share your concerns with the IACC’s Strategic Plan — comments on the proposed plan are due by August 20th . Comment by emailing IACCPublicInquiries@mail.nih.gov and commenting via email or with an attached Word document, not a PDF.

You can also watch the next IACC meeting on August 27th through NIH videocast or register to come in person to the meeting, which will be held at: 6001 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20852. (Note: pre-registration is required to attend the in-person meeting)

Learn more about the IACC and their strategic plan

What is the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)?

The IACC is a federal advisory committee that brings together all autism-related efforts within HHS. It provides valuable advice to the HHS Secretary and helps develop a strategic plan for autism research across the federal government, influencing $2 billion in federal spending . Established under the Children’s Health Act of 2000, the IACC first met in 2001. Through the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support (CARES) Act of 2024, Congress reauthorized the IACC until September 30, 2029.<br>By bringing together both federal and public members, the IACC was created to host a welcoming space where a wide variety of perspectives can be shared and explored openly.<br>According to their website, the IACC’s mission is to:<br>Provide advice and recommendations to the HHS Secretary on federal autism activities.

Facilitate information exchange and coordination of autism-related activities among member agencies.

Help the American public understand how federal agencies support autism-related activities and gather public input to inform their recommendations.

The IACC cannot directly set federal policy, nor can it lobby Congress for additional funding for autism-related initiatives.

Why does the IACC matter?

The IACC’s strategic plans and recommendations strongly shape national autism research priorities, funding decisions, and public health policy. The reauthorization of the Autism CARES Act mandates that the NIH autism budget be guided by the IACC...