Is autism ancient, a genetic variation that demands acceptance and celebration? Or is it a new and disabling condition, triggered by something in the environment that is damaging more children every day?

Authors Mark Blaxill and Dan Olmsted believe autism is new, that the real rate is rising dramatically, and that those affected are injured and disabled, not merely “neurodiverse.” They call the refusal to acknowledge this reality autism epidemic Denial. This denial blocks the urgent need to confront and stop the epidemic and endangers our kids, our country, and our future.

The key to stopping the epidemic, they say, is to stop lying about its history and start asking “Who profits?” People who deny that autism is new have self-interested motives, such as ending research that might pinpoint responsibility and, most threateningly, liability for this man-made epidemic.

The authors use their groundbreaking research—including a thorough scouring of historical and scientific literature for any hint of autism—to systematically and definitively dismantle claims that autism is nothing new and nothing to worry about.