By Evelyn Lucado
Incoming Editor-in-Chief
In an affront to long-standing scientific research, known vaccine conspiracy theorist and newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed during an April 16 press conference detailing the CDC’s supposed findings that autism spectrum disorder is an epidemic.
ASD is not a disease caused by environmental factors, nor is it a death sentence. ASD has no single cause, no easy “cure,” and certainly no justification for treating autistic individuals as broken or inferior. Secretary Kennedy’s rhetoric is dehumanizing and based on misinformation. His efforts threaten decades of hard-won social and scientific progress toward understanding, inclusion, and acceptance.
While it is true that the prevalence of ASD diagnosis has drastically increased in recent years, according to PBS, experts widely agree that better diagnostic criteria, increased awareness, and broader definitions account for the rise of diagnosis. Experts also agree that, while there is no single identified cause, there is no evidence to support Secretary Kennedy’s claims that ASD is caused by environmental factors such as vaccines. However, Secretary Kennedy has proven his disregard for evidence that does not align with his narrative. Additionally, Secretary Kennedy plans to create a disease registry that would track ASD diagnoses similarly to an infectious disease.
Secretary Kennedy’s view of ASD is not only untrue but deeply harmful as he equates contribution to society as transactional and seemingly equates human worth to his definition of what actions can meaningfully contribute to society.
“[People with autism] 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 on a date,” Secretary Kennedy said.
While some autistic individuals, specifically those with high support needs, will struggle to find employment and live independently, the inability to conform to neurotypical standards of “productivity” does not diminish a person’s worth.
The possibility of acknowledging the debilitating aspects of profound autism and the impact such a diagnosis can have both on the individual and their family is not mutually exclusive to recognizing the intrinsic value of a disabled person’s lived experience.
While there is still much to learn about ASD, Secretary Kennedy’s research aims not to support, but to erase. According to CBS, the National Institutes of Health is collecting private medical records from both federal and commercial databases in an effort to fuel Secretary Kennedy’s new effort to study ASD.
“Wanting to cure autism implies that our way of being is wrong and it isn’t,” “Love on the Spectrum” star Dani Bowman said. “We don’t need to be fixed. We need to be supported. But the answer is not erasing autism, the answer is building a more inclusive world for all of us.”
Instead of advocating for improved social safety nets and access to resources that would realistically support individuals with ASD, Secretary Kennedy is spreading fearful and false rhetoric, further isolating the ASD community. ASD is a part of human diversity, not something to be feared, tracked, or cured.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s fundamental misunderstanding of autism spectrum disorder is dangerous.