Kennedy told President Donald Trump in a Cabinet meeting Thursday that the department “will know what has caused the autism epidemic” and be prepared to eliminate environmental exposures that Kennedy speculates cause the neurological condition.
But autism advocates said that Kennedy’s rhetoric on the subject does much more harm than good for those with the neurological condition.
Ciara Bogdanovic, a marriage and family therapist in California, told the Washington Examiner that Kennedy’s approach to autism is “very damaging to autistic people, as it frames their differences as an illness and something that needs to be fixed.”
“Seeking to identify a ‘cause’ of autism ignores decades of previous research that has identified the complexity of the disorder and has shown autism to be a neurodevelopmental difference, not a ‘disease’ with a cure,” said Bogdanovic.
Bogdanovic herself is autistic and often works with neurodivergent clients. She says that past attempts to develop a cure for autism have led to “cruel and dehumanizing treatments,” including forced institutionalization and sterilization.
“Secretary Kennedy’s statements add to a damaging legacy of stigma against autistic people, treating them like problems to be solved,” said Bogdanovic. “Autistic people deserve better.”
About one in 36 children as of 2020 are diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2000, the rate was closer to one in 150 children.
Researchers debate the possible reasons for this increase, but most attribute it to refined diagnostic criteria and earlier detection.
Kennedy said in the Cabinet meeting Thursday that newer statistics indicate that the rate has increased to one in 31.
Shortly after the HHS Secretary made his remarks at the Cabinet meeting, the Autism Self-Advocacy Network condemned both Trump and Kennedy for “spouting dangerous autism misinformation.”
The ASAN press release disputes the claim that autism rates are indeed increasing. The group argues autistic and other disabled individuals “belong in our society” even if the condition is becoming more prevalent.
“To speak as though our existence is some kind of calamity that must be eliminated is a form of eugenics–the dangerous ideology based on the idea that ‘some people are born to be a burden on the rest,’” reads the ASAN press release.
ASAN also said that when Kennedy mentioned “exposures” as the cause for autism diagnoses, we was referring to the debunked theory that chemicals in vaccines cause autism.
Identifying a cause for rising rates of autism diagnoses is not possible by the September deadline, the group said.
“Real science does not move that quickly, because real science cares about truth,” said ASAN.
Other autism advocates say that resources should not be directed towards better accommodating people with autism and other neurodevelopmental differences rather than eliminating the conditions.
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Alissa Beuerlein, a licensed counselor in Nashville, Tennessee, told the Washington Examiner that Kennedy’s Cabinet meeting pronouncement “exposed his team’s ignorance about autism.”
“Autism is a name we have assigned to one way a brain can work. It’s not a problem or disease itself,” said Beuerlein. “The challenges that come from being autistic are related to how our society is set up.”
