The article centers on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s statements about autism, specifically his comments on the 25% of autistic individuals considered lowest-functioning. The author, a mother of an autistic son, defends Kennedy against criticism, arguing that his words were taken out of context and that the focus should be on finding causes for severe autism.
The author criticizes the media and a social worker for misrepresenting Kennedy's statements, highlighting that he was referring to the need for research into the severe cases of autism, not making judgments on the lives or worth of those individuals.
The author shares her personal experiences as a mother of an autistic son, including her challenges with the public school system and her involvement in the autism community. This personal perspective strengthens her argument and humanizes the issue.
The author ultimately argues for a focus on scientific investigation into autism's causes and criticizes those who spread misinformation. She suggests that if Kennedy can contribute to finding solutions for autism, his efforts should be supported regardless of political views.
I tired, you all. I really tried. It's been my goal the last few years to keep my political debates confined to X (and RedState, of course!), and keep Facebook squarely in the "happy, happy, joy, joy" zone. It wasn't always this way, unfortunately; when I look back at my Facebook memories, I realize what a pretentious bore I was a decade ago with my political rantings on my personal page.
Anyway, I caved in today. Good Friday, no less. And it was all over a speech Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave this week about autism. (Full speech below.)
Kennedy had promised President Trump at last week's Cabinet meeting that, by September, Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) would "know what has caused the autism epidemic" and "eliminate those exposures." As the mother of an adult son with autism, this piqued my interest.
On Tuesday, Kennedy continued to beat the drum on autism by disclosing the findings of a CDC report that showed, among other things, that, in 2022, one in 31 eight-year-old boys had an autism diagnosis. Compare that to 2020, when the number was one in 36. Kennedy shared a number of data points from the report, but it was his comments about the 25 percent who are considered the lowest functioning on the autism spectrum that got all the play in the media. And, as is way too common, the media purposely got it wrong.
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It was this video by an "autistic social worker" that got me to break my vow to not get political on Facebook. It was posted by a well-meaning friend who, judging by her comments, is not much of a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fan. Fair enough, but the guy in the video cherry-picked quotes made by Kennedy and used them completely out of context.
After a few ladies posted "you go, girl" kinds of comments that were not very nice and also completely false, I spoke up. When you're an autism mom, you get used to speaking up. I pointed out that Kennedy was clearly talking about the aforementioned 25 percent of folks on the autism spectrum who will never live independent lives. He never said they wouldn't live meaningful or fulfilling lives, but noted that it would be good to find out what caused them to be so severely affected. Seems like common sense, but that is all too uncommon these days, right?
But, when you're a hard-left shill, you don't much care about common sense or, you know, the facts. Mr. Social Worker Dude proves that, and, yes, I gently chastised my friend for playing into the misinformation. Asking questions seems like good science to me, and if RFK Jr. is the vessel by which that happens, then I'm good with that.
What really surprised me is that several other women came out of the woodwork after I made my comment, and they were full of praise for Kennedy over his support of the autism community over the last 25 years. I wouldn't say these were conservative women, but they clearly saw past the politics of "orange man bad" and embraced what finding some answers would mean to so many American families.
Also, you just know that Mr. Social Worker Dude was an RFK Jr. fan until about ten minutes ago. Now, let me tell you, I've dealt with more than my fair share of these kinds of social workers as my son made his way through the local public school system, and it is not pleasant. They get off on the power they hold over parents and won't let you forget that your child's success or failure is partially in their hands.
And, yes, I did pull my son out of school for a while when the politics of it all got too much, but he's on the high-functioning side of the spectrum and successfully mainstreamed into school when he was older. Until COVID hit, but that's another story.
I probably should have held my tongue/keyboard on this matter for the sake of preserving a friendship, but I'm too far into the autism journey to just ignore blatant falsehoods being spouted as fact. I've gotten to know many autism families over the years; some of the kids, like my son, were on the higher end, and some required intensive interventions that often failed to yield good results. If there are some answers out there for these families, then why would anyone stand in the way by playing into misinformation?
You don't have to like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but if he can shed some light on the autism crisis, more power to him. And I wouldn't mind seeing a few meddling social workers eat some humble pie if and when that happens.
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