{"id":890,"date":"2025-04-19T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/?p=890"},"modified":"2025-04-21T11:21:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T11:21:54","slug":"autism-community-sounds-alarms-over-harmful-rfk-jr-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/19\/autism-community-sounds-alarms-over-harmful-rfk-jr-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"Autism community sounds alarms over ‘harmful’ RFK Jr. comments\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Members of the autism community are pushing back against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s pledge to find the cause for autism by September, calling the plan harmful. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kennedy announced last week that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will launch a \u201cmassive testing and research effort\u201d to find the cause of autism spectrum disorder in the next five months. He then followed up earlier this week by stating in a press conference that the agency would have \u201csome answers\u201d by then. \u00a0<\/p>\n

During the Wednesday press conference, Kennedy stressed\u00a0that HHS would investigate an\u00a0\u201cenvironmental toxin\u201d he believes is causing rising rates of autism spectrum disorder, contradicting what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believes is contributing to the increased prevalence of the condition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Autism Society of America\u2019s Chief Marketing Officer Kristyn Roth described\u00a0Kennedy\u2019s focus on an environmental toxin as \u201cincredibly misleading\u201d and his commitment to finding a definitive cause of autism spectrum disorder as harmful to the autism community. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile more research is needed, there has been no discussion about actually serving this community to be better supported, included and to have services that reflect the diversity across the spectrum,\u201d Roth told The Hill. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The CDC published a report<\/a> earlier this week that found 1 in 31 children in the United States were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in 2022, continuing a trend of rising prevalence from previous years. The report noted that the increasing rate was likely linked to improved diagnostic methods that have become more widely available.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Kennedy expressed skepticism that improved diagnostics are the reason for the rise, telling reporters that it has to be environmental and there is no genetic link to the condition. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things I think we need to move away from today is this ideology that the autism prevalence increases, the relentless increases, are simply artifacts of better diagnoses, better recognition, or changing diagnostic criteria,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a preventable disease. We know it\u2019s an environmental exposure. It has to be. Genes do not cause epidemics. It can provide a vulnerability. You need an environmental toxin.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Research suggests that autism spectrum disorder stems from a combination of genetic factors and environmental influences. Autism researcher and clinician Doreen Samelson<\/a> said that over 100 genes have been identified as being associated with autism spectrum disorder. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the term epidemic implies a single identified cause, but I don\u2019t think autism works that way,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a complex, life-long condition, and since we have moved to kind of a spectrum we are really viewing a very broad population with a lot of diversity within that population.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roth added that the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to the Department of Education and HHS and proposed cuts to Medicaid are in \u201cdirect opposition\u201d to Kennedy\u2019s claim that he wants to support the autism community and find out more about the condition. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amid the administration’s broader efforts to slash the size and scope of the federal government, it has carried out mass firings at HHS<\/a> and the Education Department<\/a> and signaled it intends to make much deeper cuts at both agencies. An initial draft of the White House budget request reportedly calls for<\/a> reducing HHS’s budget by a third, while Trump has signed an executive order<\/a> seeking to dismantle the Education Department entirely.<\/p>\n

The recently passed House budget resolution, meanwhile, proposes cutting up to $800 billion or more from Medicaid over the next 10 years as way to help pay for tax cuts<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead of cutting government spending or proposing studies to find \u201cenvironmental toxins\u201d contributing to autism, she said, there should be more investments in rigorous, peer-reviewed science to find out more about the condition.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s language when speaking about HHS\u2019s plan to find a cause for autism spectrum disorder is also \u201charmful,\u201d Roth said, particularly his comments suggesting that those with the condition will never be productive members of society.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kennedy falsely claimed during the press conference this week that most cases of autism spectrum disorder are now severe and that the condition \u201cdestroys families.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are kids who will never pay taxes, they\u2019ll never hold a job, they\u2019ll never play baseball, they\u2019ll never write a poem, they\u2019ll never go on a date,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cMany of them will never use a toilet unassisted. And we need to recognize that we are doing this to our children.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roth called the comments \u201cinaccurate\u201d and said that Kennedy mischaracterized an entire community.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people know and love someone [with autism] who can do all of those things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since autism falls along a spectrum, there are many people with the condition who achieve complete independence, while others might need constant care. But even those people, Roth added, can lead \u201cmeaningful, quality lives.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo insinuate and define people\u2019s experiences and inaccurately claim that autism destroys families is so harmful and destructive.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of the autism community are pushing back against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s pledge to find the cause for autism by September, calling the plan harmful. \u00a0\u00a0 Kennedy announced last week that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will launch a \u201cmassive testing and research effort\u201d to find the cause of autism spectrum disorder in the next five months. He then followed up…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":891,"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890\/revisions\/891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogetterlifestylebrand.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}