Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing fierce backlash from parents of children with autism and advocacy groups after making inflammatory remarks about autism and vaccines during a press conference this week.
Speaking in response to a CDC report revealing a rise in autism diagnoses—now affecting 1 in 31 8-year-olds in the U.S.—Kennedy called autism an “epidemic” and a “chronic disease,” rejecting expert consensus that the increase is largely due to better awareness and improved diagnostic tools.
“Autism destroys families,” Kennedy said. “They’ll never pay taxes, never hold a job… never write a poem, never go on a date.” His comments, made at the Department of Health and Human Services on April 16, drew immediate condemnation.
“He’s spreading fear and misinformation,” said Beth Hoffman, a Maryland mom of a 10-year-old nonverbal son with autism. “His words promote stigma and paint an unfair, hopeless picture of what autistic people are capable of.”
Advocates emphasized that autism is a spectrum, and many autistic individuals live independent, fulfilling lives. Fewer than 40% of children with autism in the CDC report were classified with an intellectual disability.
Experts also criticized Kennedy’s call to investigate “environmental exposures” as a cause, a claim repeatedly debunked by scientific studies linking vaccines to autism.
Advocates are now urging Kennedy to retract his statements and commit to supporting neurodiverse communities, not marginalizing them.
