“RFK, Jr., Is Spreading a Dangerous, Ignorant Myth About Autism”
“We don’t need a registry, and we don’t need a ‘cure.’ We need a revolution in how we understand autism — not as something to be feared but as a natural part of human diversity. Our job isn’t to eliminate autism. It’s to eliminate barriers and provide support so that all autistic people can live joyful, self-directed lives.”
May 1, 2025
When Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. calls autism a “preventable disease” and floats the idea of an autism registry, he’s not only spouting fringe opinions. He’s echoing a long and harmful legacy of framing neurodivergent people — especially autistic people — as broken, burdensome, and in need of fixing.
As an autistic adult raising two autistic children, I know firsthand how this rhetoric shapes public perception, policy, and everyday life. I know how much damage it can do.
In casting autism as a public health crisis and something that “destroys families,” RFK, Jr. is stripping autistic people of their humanity. Our identities become problems to be solved, not lives to be understood or supported. The implication is that people like me and my children should not exist — or at the very least, should be feared, tracked, or corrected.
[Read: “Rising ADHD and Autism Rates Reflect Education — Not a Crisis”]
These comments from the secretary of Health and Human Services aren’t new. They echo decades of pathologizing narratives, including from some mainstream autism organizations that have historically centered some parents’ despair at raising neurodivergent children while ignoring autistic perspectives. But when the nation’s health secretary proposes a government registry of autistic people, it takes that fear-based framing out of the shadows and puts it on a national stage. It taps into old eugenic ideas and weaponizes public health rhetoric against a marginalized group.
Research shows just how dangerous this framing is. Autistic people already face higher rates of discrimination, mental health challenges, and suicidality — especially when we lack acceptance and community.1 Portraying autism as a tragedy increases stigma, which in turn predicts worse well-being and reduced access to needed supports.2 It also correlates with more negative parenting experiences: studies show that when caregivers view autism through a deficit lens, they report higher stress and lower family quality of life.3 In contrast, when autism is understood as a neurotype rather than a disease, outcomes improve — not just for autistic individuals, but for their families as well.
In raising two young children — both delightful, both autistic — my days are filled with sensory swings and deep chats and meltdown management and belly laughs. It’s not always easy, but parenting never is. The hard parts don’t necessarily come from my kids’ neurotypes. They often stem from systems and expectations that were never built for people like us.
When public figures portray autism as a tragedy, they reinforce those broken systems. Insurance becomes harder to access for affirming therapies. Schools and workplaces feel justified in denying accommodations. Families are instructed to control and conform instead of adapt. And autistic people — especially those who are also queer, BIPOC, or multiply disabled — internalize the message that their very being is a mistake.
[Read: ADHD, Autism, and Neurodivergence Are Coming Into Focus]
But there is another story we can tell, one rooted in dignity, interdependence, and acceptance. It’s the story I live every day as I advocate for my kids and unlearn the shame I once felt about my own mind. It’s the story of thousands of autistic adults who are fighting not just for services, but for belonging. It’s the story the neurodiversity movement has been telling for years, and it deserves a louder megaphone than RFK, Jr.’s.
We don’t need a registry, and we don’t need a “cure.” We need a revolution in how we understand autism — not as something to be feared, but as a natural part of human diversity. Our job isn’t to eliminate autism. It’s to eliminate barriers and provide support so that all autistic people can live joyful, self-directed lives.
Autism and Neurodiversity: Next Steps
- Free eBook: The Truth About Autism in Adults
- Read: MAHA Commission Means Fear, Stigma, Health Threats for Two-Thirds of ADDitude Readers
- Read: “ADHD Is an Actual Condition. You Can’t Beat It Out of a Child.”
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View Article Sources
1 Cassidy, S., Bradley, L., Shaw, R., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2018). Risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults. Molecular Autism, 9(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-018-0226-4
2 Botha, M., & Frost, D. M. (2020). Extending the minority stress model to understand mental health problems experienced by autistic people. Society and Mental Health, 10(1), 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869318804297
3 Botha, M., & Frost, D. M. (2020). Extending the minority stress model to understand mental health problems experienced by autistic people. Society and Mental Health, 10(1), 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869318804297
