An open letter from an autistic person who writes poems and pays taxes.
Dear Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,
I am not writing this blog plot under any pretense you’ll actually read it. I am writing this post as an open letter because it’s the best way for me to respond to the remarks you recently made about autism. And your remarks? Well, as an autistic person, I have a lot to say in response to them.
Last Wednesday, you hosted a press conference where you reacted to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That study revealed autism rates in children have increased exponentially, from 1 in 36 children in 2020 to 1 in 31 in 2022.
You referred to this increase in autism rates as an “epidemic.” Now that would be problematic in and of itself, but what you said about people with autism proved to be far more alarming:
“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 on a date. [And] many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.”
Sir, as a person with autism, and with all due respect, shut the f*** up!
You, sir, know nothing about autism or the people who have it. Quite frankly, there are a lot of things you know nothing about, from vaccines to fluoride, to the point where you are hardly qualified to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Health, let alone as the manager of a hot dog stand.
I was diagnosed with autism at age 11. I have lived my whole adult life as a person with autism. While I cannot speak for all autistic people, I can speak for myself and my own experience. And as a person with autism, nothing you said that autistic people cannot do I have been unable to do.
I pay taxes. I hold a job. I have written poetry. I never played baseball professionally, but I have played with a ball and bat in my backyard. And while I have not gone on many dates, I chalk that up to modern dating apps being absolute crap. Oh, and last time I checked, I can use the bathroom unassisted.
Grated, I say all of this as someone with high-functioning autism. I know plenty of people with low-functioning autism probably do struggle with all those things. Even then, so what? Even people who are unable to take care of themselves are worthy of dignity and respect. If anything, we should care more for those types of people, not less.
And that’s what disturbs me the most about your comments. Perhaps you shared them out of feigned sympathy for people with autism. But I know many other people have shared similar sentiments out of contempt, claiming autistic people or other people with special needs are “worthless” or a “burden on society” because they cannot do the same things “normal” people can.
These dangerous sentiments were common in authoritarian regimes. In Nazi Germany, many people with special needs and disabilities were dismissed as “inferior”, “empty human shells”, and “life unworthy of life.” They were decried as a “burden on society” because they were often confined to public institutions where they were accused of “wasting tax dollars.”
So, the Nazis decided to get rid of them. In fact, people with special needs and disabilities were one of the first victims of the Holocaust.
Now, am I accusing you of being a Nazi? No. But then again, at the inauguration of the President you served under, Elon Musk gave the Nazi salute—twice!—and he and his DOGE goons are currently busy slashing funding to Medicaid and other social programs that benefit people with special needs and disabilities. So, there’s that.
But circling back to your recent comments, you are also wrong about autism. Because it is not a “disease.” It is not an “epidemic.” It does not “destroy” lives or families. And it is certainly not caused by “environmental factors”, not the least of which being vaccines.
Let me save you and your staff in the health department some time and resources for you. Vaccines do not cause autism. There is no evidence, nor has there ever been, that autism rates are linked to vaccination. None. The closest thing to “evidence” suggesting otherwise was a study published by former doctor Andrew Wakefield, and not only was that dubious study retracted, but the “doctor” was struck off the medical register for “serious misconduct.”
You know why autism rates have been increasing? It’s not because of vaccines or “environmental factors.” It’s because the diagnosis criteria for autism have been broadened over the past several decades. And scientists and other researchers have broadened those criteria because they have learned more and more about autism. They have done their research. If only you would heed it.
In short, you, sir, know nothing about autism, and it would benefit you and your position to listen to the people who have it. Otherwise, you might want to check yourself for potentially having Foot-in-Mouth Disease.
Sincerely,
Someone with autism
J.C. Alexandre 