APRIL 24, 2025 | FEATURES | By Kole Petersen (Opinion Copy Editor)
On Wednesday, April 16, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — I still cannot believe that’s real — spoke at a news conference about his plan to find the cause of autism and how much of a tragedy autism has become.
Directly contradicting researchers within his own agency and disregarding all scientific consensus, RFK Jr. blamed environmental factors for the rising rates of autism spectrum disorder in children, calling the media’s portrayal of the uptick a “myth of epidemic denial.”
He also portrayed autism as a mysterious boogeyman that has destroyed families and ruined children, many of whom, according to him, “were fully functional and regressed because of some environmental exposure when they’re two years old.”
When asked about the increase in knowledge and diagnostic procedures, RFK Jr. said that genes and increased screenings had nothing to do with the supposed environmental factors of this “epidemic.”
RFK Jr. asserted that autistic kids will never play baseball, write poems, go out on a date, hold a job, pay taxes or use the toilet by themselves.
On April 16, I saw RFK Jr. make unsubstantiated claims about autism for what felt like the millionth time. To be honest, I initially disregarded these statements as yet another example of intentional ignorance.
When you see someone repeatedly cry wolf about vaccines, obesity and food additives being causes of autism, you tend to ignore their nonsense, you know?
The next day, after I heard those infantilizing, demeaning and horrific words on my timeline again and again, I became more and more disgusted.
As I talked about in my last article, there have been innumerable news articles, videos, fraudulent research papers and flawed studies that ascertain a singular cause of autism.
As I talked about in my last article, all of these sources misunderstand the scientific principle of correlation not equaling causation. They also misunderstand a basic aspect of psychological disorders, that being a disorder never has a single cause associated with it.
And as I talked about in my last article, the sensations of fear and comfort cause people to eat these claims up at face value.
But this time, RFK Jr.’s comments were not limited to the sometimes nebulous topic of disorder diagnosis and contributing factors.
These comments directly targeted the agency of autistic people like me and my brother.
Even in a fantasy universe where RFK Jr. is right about the existence of environmental terrors, it would still not be okay to limit autistic people’s experiences to an infantilized stereotype of people who will never “contribute to society.”
What does “contribute to society” mean anyway?
Do people need to pay taxes and hold a job to play a role in society?
Why aren’t people’s existences and relationships enough?
My twin brother was nonverbal until the age of 13, flaps his arms to stim, and still has difficulties in acting independently.
My brother is also one of the happiest, kindest, sweetest people I know. He hugs everyone he meets, supports everyone he meets, and loves everyone he meets.
Does his life not matter under RFK Jr.’s eyes?
I am a college student-athlete who can hit a baseball, work a job and even go to the toilet by myself. I was also nonverbal until the age of 6, and I still struggle to identify sarcasm and non-literal figures of speech.
Is my value limited to what I cannot do?
Autism is a disability, but it is not a death sentence. Autism causes social, communicative and behavioral differences compared to neurotypical people, but it does not limit our possibilities.
Some people on the autism spectrum do need more assistance in their daily lives, but that does not make autism spectrum disorder an epidemic.
I should have learned by now to speak out about every dangerous claim made about autism. I already know that RFK Jr. will continue to spout misinformation to align with Trump’s political agenda and improve his image among his supporters.
But I’m just so exhausted at having to advocate to people who refuse to listen.
Every time I debunk harmful claims about autism, more pop up to drown out my voice.
Every time I try to explain the harm of infantilization, these linguistic utterances seem to become even more popular.
It is so tempting just to tune out RFK Jr.’s opinions, view them as obviously idiotic.
But when millions of people subscribe to those opinions, and when those opinions are uncritically broadcast to the entire world, we must continue to speak up.
On Wednesday, April 16, I felt drained that the topic I had just finished writing about was being contradicted by one of the most powerful people in our government.
But every day, I will keep fighting to ensure that these people won’t remain powerful, at the very least for the community my brother and I represent.