RFK Jr. Makes Bizarre Statements about Autism and Announces Impossible Study

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, made bizarre statements about autism and announced an equally bizarre campaign against it.

At a press conference, he claimed children with autism will “never pay taxes, never hold a job” and many will “never use a toilet unassisted.” He said:

These are children who should not be suffering like this. These are kids who many of them were fully functional and regressed because of some environmental exposure into autism under two years old.

And 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.

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the number of people diagnosed with autism is rising. He believes this indicates an epidemic of autism. He has previously remarked that he believes autism is caused by vaccines or an environmental toxin. Experts believe the modest rise in numbers is due to improved diagnostic capabilities and that autism can arise from any of multiple factors.

Separately, Kennedy announced a study to identify the cause of autism by September 2025. It does not have leadership with appropriate expertise. Kennedy does not appear to understand that his ambition for the study is contrary to the way science operates.

Autistic people, their families and people who know them erupted in anger online at Kennedy’s ignorance and his insults. Those who have made notable achievements in their fields of expertise were especially furious at his offensive and wildly wrong slurs against everyone who has autism.

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