14 hours Ago By Zachary Stieber
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. clarified remarks he made about autistic people, saying he knows that some of them have fulfilling lives.
“There are many kids with autism who are doing well. They’re holding down jobs, they’re getting paychecks, they’re living independently,” Kennedy said on Fox News on April 17. During a press conference on autism the day prior, Kennedy had said that autism “destroys families” and “our children.
” “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. Many of them will never use a toilet on an assistant,” Kennedy said during the briefing.
The remarks drew criticism from some, including parents who posted about their children being successful and not meeting any of the criteria Kennedy laid out. In clarifying his remarks, Kennedy said on Fox, “I was specifically referring to that 25 percent, the group that is non-verbal.” Other people had expressed support for Kennedy’s remarks.
Kennedy also said at the briefing that genetics may be behind some cases of autism, but that environmental factors are behind what he called the “autism epidemic.” Vaccines and food additives are among the possible causes, he said. And he said that autism is a “preventable disease.
” Organizations that advocate for autistic people said in a joint statement that there is no link between vaccines and autism. Others have attributed the rise in autism to better screening methods. The researchers have not been identified, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has declined to share additional information as of yet, beyond saying that the National Institutes of Health would be involved.
Kennedy said on Fox that while the preliminary findings would be available by September, it could take another year before definitive answers are found..
