Controversial Department of Health and Human Services head Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a bold promise this week, saying, "By September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic."
Kennedy stated that this effort involves "hundreds of scientists around the world."
Kennedy has taken heat as a vaccine skeptic, one who some believe is dangerous and could convince people through his own skepticism to stop live-saving treatments.
But his boss Donald Trump heartily endorsed his new September goal to answer questions about skyrocketing rates of autism whose cause has stymied the world's researchers.
As ABC News reported, Trump commented on Kennedy's September goal by speculating -- without scientific backing -- that the answer to driving down rates could be "you stop taking something, you stop eating something or maybe it's a shot, but something's causing it."
Others believe a combination of genetics, better diagnosis and a more wide-ranging consideration of symptoms, are driving the trend of more cases of autism than ever before.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 150 children in the U.S. born in 1992 were diagnosed with autism. By 2020, 1 in 36 children born in 2012 were diagnosed,
And Kennedy said that he believes those rates have risen to 1 in 31 children.
Broad consensus among scientists is that childhood vaccines do not lead to autism, a spectrum disability whose symptoms can range from having poor verbal, social and emotional skills to being completely non-verbal and requiring a lifetime of care.
Possible risk factors, per the National Institutes of Health, include prenatal exposure to pesticides or air pollution, extreme prematurity or low birth weight, certain maternal health problems and parents conceiving at an older age.
CBS News reported that Kennedy has offered no details on how his study will be different or which researchers will be involved. Leading autism organizations, such as the Autism Society of America, have not been included in discussions about the research, said ASA spokeswoman Kristyn Roth.
"There is a deep concern that we are going backward and evaluating debunked theories," Roth said.