Condemn Secretary Kennedy's press conference framing of autism and push back on the NIH research agenda he is directing. What Kennedy described was not science — it was stigma dressed up in policy language, and it will cause real harm to autistic people and their families.
Kennedy stood at a federal podium and declared that autistic people will never hold jobs, pay taxes, or live independently. That is not a medical finding. It is a dehumanizing characterization that strips autistic people of dignity and contradicts the lived reality of millions of Americans. Autism Speaks called his comments "extremely disappointing and damaging," and leading researchers like Dr. Barry Prizant have pushed back directly on this framing. The CDC's 1-in-31 prevalence figure reflects decades of expanded diagnostic criteria — a fact Kennedy dismissed as an "industry canard" despite broad scientific consensus.
Directing NIH to chase unproven environmental toxin theories, while dismissing the well-established genetic basis of autism (up to 80% genetic risk), is not following the science — it is distorting it. This approach will misdirect federal research dollars, delay real support for autistic people, and legitimize misinformation that has already caused harm. Autistic Americans deserve federal leadership that affirms their humanity, not a cabinet secretary treating their existence as a crisis to be solved.
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