Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, has been controversial with autistic people recently. Why? He’s said many gross things against people with autism.  

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is determined to find a cure for autism, calling it an epidemic. He also thought that it was caused by environmental toxins. But the most offensive thing of all that Robert said was that people with autism can’t do a lot of things, like play sports, use the bathroom unassisted, and write poems. 

Robert’s statements about wanting to cure autism and what causes it are like age-old misconceptions about autism. Tell me if you’ve heard that autism is caused by vaccines, because this is kind of similar to that statement. In fact, my twin sister learned in college that the person who claimed this originally got in trouble because they had no evidence to back it up. The truth is that autism can mostly be genetic or based on the age of the parents. 

Robert’s beliefs about the limitations of autistic individuals makes me recall a video that came out for World Down Syndrome Day called “Assume I Can, So Maybe I Will”.. Though this video is about people with Down Syndrome, many of the statements in this video remind me of how Robert sees people with autism. In the video, a woman with Down Syndrome talks about things that people assume she can’t do and asks people to assume she can do the things she wants to. This is like how Robert thinks that every person with autism isn’t able to do most things neurotypical people can, even though this is not true. Just look at me: I’ve graduated college and can hold a job! And I’m writing this article for YAI now! 

Robert’s statements about autism are awful. By stereotyping all people with autism as those who need more support than others, it leaves out those who have accomplished a lot in life. This is yet another person who doesn’t see the positive side to autism and wants to get rid of it, when I don’t even think that is possible. We, as autistic people, need to stand up for ourselves and call out people like Robert who stand against us. 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of YAI.