EXCLUSIVE — Kennedy names new chair for US autism advisory panel

(Adds official confirmation in paragraphs 1, 3, 7, and 9) By Ahmed Aboulenein WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) — US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named an ally, Dr. John Gaitanis, to lead a key federal advisory panel on autism on Friday, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told Reuters. Gaitanis, a pediatric neurologist who was appointed last month as director of the National Institutes of Health's child health institute, will take over from Dr. Sylvia Fogel, who has chaired the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee since January. "Dr. John Gaitanis, Director of the NICHD, has been appointed chair of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee effective today," said HHS spokesperson Emily Hillard. Fogel, a Harvard Medical School instructor and a parent to an adult child with autism, had worked quickly to propose, and then helped adopt, a sweeping new strategic plan focused on medical care, housing, aging, and other priorities for people with autism and their families. The IACC under her leadership recommended the government adopt the term "profound autism" for those with high support needs. She took the helm after Kennedy remade the advisory board, fi