WASHINGTON (September 24, 2025) – Richard Grinker, professor of anthropology and international affairs at the George Washington University and director of GW’s Institute for Ethnographic Research, has a new op ed in the New York Times.
In the piece, Grinker, a cultural anthropologist whose expertise spans autism, Korea, and sub-Saharan Africa, reflects on his daughter’s diagnosis in the early 1990s as well as the evolving history of how we define, study, and understand autism. He cautions against recent political rhetoric that frames autism as a “preventable crisis,” arguing that such claims ignore decades of rigorous science.
Grinker makes clear that science has not failed. The autism community has made enormous progress in detection, education, and treatment. He warns that myths about vaccines or parental blame is a dangerous step backward.
If you would like to schedule an interview with Grinker, please contact Claire Sabin at claire [dot] sabin
gwu [dot] edu (claire[dot]sabin[at]gwu[dot]edu).
-GW-