RFK Jr. is loud and wrong about autism
Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons
Some people simply do not deserve to have a platform, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of them. He has consistently demonstrated a lack of critical thinking and a dedication to spreading misinformation. He is someone to watch in the current administration.
On Apr. 16, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who currently oversees the Department of Health and Human Services, held a press conference to discuss a report on the prevalence of autism among children. In this conference, Kennedy made several bold claims about autism— claims that were offensive, inappropriate, and inconsistent with reality. He stated that many autistic children who were once “fully functional…regressed into autism when they were 2 years old.”
He went on to speak about these children and described what he believed to be their capabilities, stating, “These are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.” In a statement offensive to both autistic people and their relatives, he further claimed that autism “destroys families.”
It is not entirely surprising to me that Kennedy would feel comfortable expressing such broadly generalized, poorly thought-out, and unsubstantiated claims about autism. What is surprising to me, however, is that while he has faced backlash from the autistic community and its supporters, he has not seemed to draw anger from those who otherwise support him. I have heard some defending him, even stating that he did not intend to speak about all people with autism, only the more severe cases. Some argue that he deserves some grace, as he is supposedly correct in his attempts to address the “issue” and find the environmental causes of autism.
I do not feel inclined to defend him. Kennedy has consistently demonstrated carelessness with his language, seemingly not considering— or not caring about —the harmful effects of his words. He has demonstrated a distinct lack of critical thinking, buying into and supporting unscientific claims about autism and other health crises. This also includes, according to NPR, “that Wi-Fi causes cancer and ‘leaky brain,’ that school shootings are attributable to antidepressants, that chemicals in water can lead to children becoming transgender, and that AIDS may not be caused by HIV.” This is a man who has no business having a platform at all— and who is certainly entirely unqualified to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services.
His comments about autism, maybe veiled under the guise of genuine concern, are simply another example of this administration targeting groups that have recently begun to make progress after a history of exclusion and discrimination. Disguised as an attempt to create scientific progression, Kennedy’s comments instead push us several steps back— a return to thinking that has been consistently disproven as more light has been shed on autism and autistic people.
If you find yourself wishing to defend the man and his comments, save your breath. Instead, practice empathy and consider all the people in your life who have autism, who have paid taxes, maintained a job, played baseball, written a poem, and gone out on a date. Consider the living and breathing evidence against Kennedy’s claims; consider how it might feel to be told that you cannot participate in your society— that your very existence threatens to “destroy” your family. Consider this and reevaluate the man who has gained significant power— despite sexual assault allegations —and has chosen to use that power to spread harmful misinformation.
Kennedy does not deserve his position; he does not deserve a platform. I only hope that, despite the harm these comments may have caused to people with autism and their families, they shed light on the man’s callousness with his words and his dedication to misinformation and conspiracy.