Judah Koller

Apply for a Blog

Apr 25, 2025, 12:26 AM

Autism Deserves Science, Not Soundbites

In a recent interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated the long-debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. These kinds of comments aren’t just wrong. They’re dangerous. They distract from what truly matters to autistic people and their families and add...

Mar 30, 2023, 11:57 PM

1 in 36 children are now autistic, and that is not a bad thing

When I started working in the field of autism in 2011, prevalence rates in the United States were just less than 1%, with 1 in 110 children being diagnosed as autistic. According to new data just published by the...

Jan 24, 2022, 12:07 AM

On Patience, Predictability, Parenting, Preschoolers and a Pandemic

When children are young, it is their job to figure out how the social world around them works. When I cry, will someone come? When I smile, will someone smile back? If I fall, will someone pick me up?...

May 27, 2020, 1:58 PM

A Mother Killed Her Son and It’s Not Not Our Fault

Last week in Florida, a mother drowned her autistic son. This may seem unfathomable but it is not the first time a parent has murdered their child with disabilities. It will not be the last. There is no room for excusing...

Mar 11, 2020, 2:35 PM

How to Talk to [your] Kids about Corona

Along with oatmeal, cheerios, and coffee for the grownups, we’ve been starting our mornings with an update on the coronavirus. It’s not that we, as parents, initiated this. It’s our kids who are giving us the updates. After they...

May 19, 2019, 6:45 PM

Introducing Shalva

Having grown up in the US, I wasn’t aware of Eurovision’s existence until I moved to Israel in early adulthood. Given most of what happened on stage in Tel Aviv over the last few days, ignorance may have been...

Apr 2, 2019, 2:06 PM

Moving Past Autism Awareness

Today we mark International Autism Awareness Day. We recognize the importance of having such a day but state unambiguously that awareness should no longer be the goal. It is 2019 and we are aware. We are aware of the vast...

Jul 23, 2018, 3:06 PM

Gays, Arabs, people with disabilities: Please move to the back of the bus

Ours is the start-up country. The beacon of democracy and liberalism in the Middle East. The land of history, culture, cutting-edge and pushing the limit. And yet... Over the last two weeks, we have seen our government take concrete legislative steps...

Nov 19, 2017, 5:30 PM

The Disconnect Between Science and the Media: Everyone Loses

Last Thursday my wife sent me a link to a Hebrew newspaper article titled, “Israeli Study: It Is Possible to Diagnose Autism at 9 months.” The article goes on to present new, unpublished research that does not, in any...

Nov 5, 2015, 6:39 PM

Do unto Others: A Lesson Taught in Empathy

Yesterday I was a passive participant in a powerful educational experience. A colleague of mine, who we'll call 'Tom', teaches the Intro to Special Education course in our graduate program at Hebrew University. For the last 3 weeks he's...

Load more

About Me

Judah is Assistant Professor of Clinical Child Psychology and Special Education at the Seymour Fox School of Education at the Hebrew University. He directs the Autism Child and Family Lab and is the Director of the Jerusalem Region of the Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research.

Contact Me