SPOKANE, Wash. — People with autism and their supporters are pushing back against recent comments from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., that they say were ignorant and harmful.
In his first press conference as HHS Secretary on Wednesday, RFK Jr. dismissed the widely-held scientific consensus that higher autism rates are largely due to better detection and broader diagnosis. He instead, without evidence, asserted that autism is ‘preventable’.
He also made unfounded claims about the future of those with autism diagnoses.
“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,” he said.
Advocacy groups quickly called out Kennedy’s remarks as “disappointing and damaging.”
Local organizations, including the Isaac Foundation in Spokane and AtWork Washington, said his statements aren’t just wrong—they’re hurtful to people with autism and their families.
The Isaac Foundation works with hundreds of people with autism in Spokane and said many of its clients live independently and have jobs.
“RFK is wrong. He doesn’t know children at all with autism. He’s very ignorant,” said Pam Ryan, whose son Zach has autism and works at Walmart 12 hours a week.
John Lemus, advocacy manager at AtWork Washington and a person with autism, also pushed back.
“A lot of the things that RFK said are not backed by research. They’re not backed by evidence-based science,” he said.
Many in the autism community said Kennedy’s comments just reinforce old stereotypes and ignore what people with autism are actually achieving.
“We’re not broken. We don’t need to be fixed. Could there be better research about how to support individuals? Yes. As long as that’s done in the right way.”
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