04/18/2025
The recent remarks by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. regarding autism are extremely troubling to those of us who work in the field of autism and related disorders, not to mention the families of those impacted by this diagnosis. As the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, he has a responsibility to promote accurate information but sadly his latest statement fell significantly short.
Historically, he is well known for peddling false statements linking vaccinations as the causal factor of autism. Countless studies have debunked this assertion and the continued promulgation of such is not only irresponsible but extremely dangerous to public health and safety. While his statement regarding the increase in the prevalence of autism is accurate, the remaining comments are not. Yes, some individuals are seriously impacted by the diagnosis but his comments fail to reflect the fact that autism is a syndrome in which some are profoundly impacted and others are fully contributing members of society - just ask Elon Musk.
RFK, Jr. has vowed to unveil the cause by September 2025. While this sounds commendable, it creates an environment in which simplistic or politically motivated explanations do a disservice to evidence based research. Autism is a spectrum disorder and the diagnosis is likely multifactorial in nature. My fear is that funding will be directed towards those pandering to a political base or agenda leading to multiple fake studies claiming a link between vaccines and autism. This concern is reinforced by RFK Jr.’s hiring of David Geier, a well known discredited conspiracy theorist, who with his father, Mark, have published multiple fake studies claiming a link between vaccines and autism as well as peddle unproven medical treatments for their own financial gain to head the research designed to answer the question of etiology.
It can only be said that RFK, Jr. has abandoned his responsibility to safeguard public health and promote science. This move towards conspiracy theories and junk science puts all our lives at risk and does significant damage to those individuals whose lives are impacted by this diagnosis. I expect more from those in positions of authority - especially from the individual who heads the Department of Health and Human Services.
