News anchor on autism and its rise: ‘Why wouldn’t we’ try to prevent it?
Apr 19, 2025, 5:00 AM
Leland Vittert participates in the first-ever National Outdoor Recreation Executive Forum hosted by Outdoor Recreation Roundtable at Decatur House on May 07, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Paul Morigi, Getty Images)
(Photo: Paul Morigi, Getty Images)
According to a nationwide survey conducted in 2022 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one in 31 children studied had been diagnosed with autism—a significant increase from the one-in-every-36 reported in 2020, and an even larger increase from the one-in-every-150 reported in 2000.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, is spearheading the efforts in identifying the root causes of the childhood chronic disease epidemic, which includes the increase in autism among kids.
Leland Vittert, anchor of NewsNation’s prime-time “On Balance,” weighed in on the recent study on “Seattle’s Morning News.”
“We should all want to know why, but we don’t want to stigmatize autism,” Vittert said. “We should celebrate people who are living with it. We should help people who are living with it. I’ve heard people say, ‘Well, it’s your superpower’ or whatever. OK, two things can be true at once. One, we should do everything to help people who are living with autism, whether it be severe autism or other forms on the spectrum, and give them the help they need.”
News anchor diagnosed with autism at young age
Vittert was diagnosed with autism at a very young age. His book, “Born Lucky: A Dedicated Father, A Grateful Son, and My Journey with Autism” (set to be released Sept. 30) documents his father’s role in raising him while he dealt with autism.
“On the other hand, we should acknowledge that it would be great if this weren’t an issue anymore, “Vittert added. “People say we shouldn’t stigmatize it. Well, I would love for my child not to have to worry about having autism. There is a genetic component. It’s obviously something I’ve thought about. If we can understand environmental factors that make it more likely to occur or a more severe occurrence of it, and prevent that, why wouldn’t we do that?”
Listen to the full conversation here:
Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.
