Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently said many autistic children were “fully functional” and “regressed … into autism when they were 2 years old. And 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 out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.’”
He also said, “autism destroys families” and is an “individual tragedy as well” (Jacobson, 2025).
Autistic people have faced stigma and discrimination for decades. In 1963, Erving Goffman characterized stigma as an “attribute that is deeply discrediting,” [and] readily discernable, such as one’s skin color or body size, or could be hidden but nonetheless discreditable if revealed, such as [a] criminal record or struggles with mental illness (Bos et al., 2013).
Kennedy’s public statements about autism sparked significant backlash from individuals, advocacy groups, and medical experts because his comments reinforce harmful stereotypes and contribute to stigma in several key areas:
Perpetuating Stereotypes
Describing autism as a “tragedy” that “destroys families” perpetuates negative stereotypes and undermines the diverse experiences of autistic individuals.
Claiming that autistic individuals will “never hold a job, write a poem, or go on a date” ignores the wide spectrum of abilities and successes by autistic people.
A Maryland-based mother of a 10-year-old non-speaking son with autism said, “[RFK Jr. is] spreading fear and misinformation.” She added that Kennedy’s comments about “autism being an epidemic and a chronic disease causes falsehoods and a negative stigma…I’m sad for our country, my son’s future, and everyone with [a disability].”
In spite of his very public remarks, RFK Jr. defended himself at a U.S. Senate hearing on May 17, 2025, saying, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me” (Braun-Silva, 2025).
I couldn’t agree more. But as HHS Secretary, Kennedy is “responsible for food and hospital inspections, providing health insurance for millions of Americans and researching deadly diseases.” The Maryland mother, quoted above, is “outraged and disturbed” that Kennedy’s comments about ‘autism being an epidemic and a chronic disease causes falsehoods and a negative stigma’ are yielding consequences beyond America’s borders. As HHS, he has influence on public health policies, which could lead to misguided approaches to autism research and support (Braun-Silva, 2025).
Less Stigmatizing Attitudes
Internationally, we were making advances toward normalizing Neurodiversity (Autism and ADHD) as naturally occurring differences in brain function. Samantha Taylor, whose 20-year-old son is also on the spectrum, echoed that frustration. “Unless you are the parent of a child with autism, you can’t begin to imagine what the journey is like,” she told Good Morning America. “To say that it’s an epidemic and destroying families is an insult to everyone in the autism community” (Braun-Silva, 2025).
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “a small study in 1998 suggested a link between vaccinations and autism spectrum disorder. The study was reviewed further and retracted. In addition, the author’s medical license was revoked due to falsified information.” However, RFK Jr’s influence has led to “the CDC… proceed[ing] with more studies into the alleged link between autism and vaccines” (LeGare, 2022).
When the U.S. Sneezes, Canada Catches a Cold
With the election of Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, Canada’s National Autism Policy is relatively safe from uninformed policy shifts. However, some parents of autistic children feel confused and worried. A former colleague of mine whose job in Public Health specifically relates to vaccines and who has an autistic 10-year-old son is frustrated. Eight hours per day, she receives calls from parents, suddenly worried about vaccinating their children (Cooper, R. 2025).
Rhetoric from the U.S. makes her job in Ontario, Canada, much harder.
Healthcare and Policy Implications
While Health Secretary Kennedy has vowed to address rising U.S. autism rates as a top health priority for the Trump administration, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have reduced funding for autism-related research by an estimated $31 million during the first four months of 2025. The NIH has already defunded a $509,000 grant to study the genetic factors that impact mental health and gender diversity in 10,000 autistic and non-autistic people and two other projects: A $211,000 grant to develop interventions to improve the mental health of autistic adults and a $548,000 grant exploring the autism risk among children of women exposed to childhood abuse (Respaut & Dowdell, 2025).
International Concerns
As an Autism Advocate and a late-diagnosed Aspie, a return to outdated and inaccurate beliefs about autism is profoundly exasperating. In a blog post dated April 19, 2025, Dr. Natalie Engelbrecht, ND, RP, a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario, Canada, wrote, “I want to take a moment to acknowledge that RFK Jr.’s recent statements about autism have deeply impacted many of us, autistic adults, parents, and loved ones alike. His portrayal of autism as something tragic, toxic, and incompatible with love, work, or contribution is not only inaccurate, it’s profoundly dehumanizing.
“For those of us who are autistic adults without intellectual disability, these kinds of comments erase our lived experiences, our relationships, and the ways we do contribute meaningfully to our communities” (Engelbrecht, 2025).
Fortunately, autism experts and autistic individuals are pushing back against Kennedy’s approach to autism as he plans more expansive monitoring of autistic people’s health records and proposes cuts to disability services.
Researchers were “poised to make big advances in autism,” yet these cuts and harmful approaches will make those advances “stop in their tracks,” said Daniel Geschwind, professor and director of the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (Autistic People and Experts Voice Alarm at RFK’s “Terrible” Approach to Condition, 2025).
Beyond Politics
We know that autistic people experience disproportionate stigma and marginalization across their lifespan in healthcare, social interactions… and other contexts. The result is often the experience of minority stress—stress due to decreased social standing. In medical schools, culturally-informed curricula are typically geared to supporting populations marginalized due to issues of skin color, ethnicity, social class, and sexual orientation, but not autistic populations. Therefore, such programs have limited capability to address distinct autism stigma-related disparities (Hotez et al., 2024).
Cultural Competence + Humility = Cultural Competemility
Cultural competence in healthcare is the ability of healthcare workers to provide individualized care that considers the shared beliefs, values, customs, and ideas of a population (Mansuri, 2024).
Cultural humility is the “commitment to self-evaluation and to valuing the unique characteristics of individuals across diverse populations” (Mansuri, 2024).
By practicing culturally competent care, healthcare professionals can lead with the concept that “healthy” looks different for everyone, which then allows for treatment plans that consider more than just physical health.
The Cultural Competemility Model
According to Transcultural C.A.R.E. Associates, “The Process of Cultural Competemility in the Delivery of Healthcare Services model views cultural humility, awareness, knowledge, skill, encounters and cultural desire as the essential components of cultural competemility… cultural encounters being the pivotal construct of this model. This model begins and ends with the seeking and experiencing many cultural encounters… Healthcare professionals must engage in the process of becoming culturally competent while synchronously engaged in the process of being culturally humble” (Respaut & Dowdell, 2025).
Cultural Competemility “How-To”
- Unlearn ableism: Ableism is discrimination in favor of people who are able-bodied and/or neurotypical. Ableism tends to view people with a disability as damaged or diminished and implies that they need fixing.
- Speak directly to us, the autistic patient, when discussing our issues.
- Respect how we self-identify.
- Be as sensory-friendly as possible. Be open to stimming, ask yes or no questions, and/or have an alternative way of communicating not involving speech.
- Respect our bodily autonomy. Telling us what you’re about to do can abate any defensive reactions that may result from touching.
- Understand that each autistic patient is an individual. Treat us as such and keep our own personal needs in mind.
- Never dismiss our Symptoms: Too often, our symptoms are dismissed or minimized by healthcare providers, who may attribute our concerns to autism rather than investigating our complaint.
Finally, be humble, kind, and ask questions: There is no way any one physician can learn everything they need to know during medical training.
The information, opinions, and views presented in Autism Spectrum News (ASN) reflect the views of the authors and contributors of the articles and not of ASN, the ASN Editorial Board, or its publisher Mental Health News Education. To view the full ASN Disclaimer of Endorsement and Liability, click here.
Annie Kent, MA, spent two decades working in public sector disability, mental health, and infectious diseases advocacy and education. Diagnosed with three closely related categories of neurodiversity, a lack of awareness and understanding led to autistic burn-out and retirement from the field. She remains an active advocate, learning and engaging remotely with several Autism and ADHD organizations and forums, including creating a new Autism Northwest Newsletter. https://autismnorthwest.com/blogs/news. For more information, email Annie at anjolie1031@gmail.com
References
Autistic people and experts voice alarm at RFK’s “terrible” approach to condition. (2025). Politomix. https://politomix.com/the-guardian/2245123/autistic-people-experts-voice-alarm-rfks-terrible-approach/#google_vignette
Bos, A. E. R., Pryor, J. B., Reeder, G. D., & Stutterheim, S. E. (2013). Stigma: Advances in Theory and Research. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 35(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2012.746147
Hotez, E., Phan, J. M., & Truong, D. M. (2024). Addressing Stigma-Related Health Disparities for Autistic Individuals Through Cultural Competemility: Insights from Research and Lived Experience. Current Psychiatry Reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-024-01551-y
Sun, Alice, Doctors with autism speak out against stigma, Scienceline, March 9, 2023. https://doi.org/10.53053/XFEP8273
Transcultural C.A.R.E. Associates. (2022). The Process of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Healthcare Services. Transcultural C.A.R.E Associates. https://transculturalcare.net/the-process-of-cultural-competence-in-the-delivery-of-healthcare-services
LeGare, J. (2022, March 24). Autism-vaccine link debunked. Www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/autism-vaccine-link-debunked
Mansuri, A. (2024, November 6). Cultural Competence in Healthcare: Why Is It Important? Healthline; Healthline Media. https://www.healthline.com/health/culture-competency-in-healthcare
Braun-Silva, B. (2025, April 17). RFK Jr.’s comments on autism draw reactions from parents and experts. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/parents-experts-react-rfk-jrs-autism-claims/story?id=120911306
Engelbrecht, N. (2025, April 19). A letter to all autistics following RFK Jr.’s statements about autism. Embrace Autism. https://embrace-autism.com/a-letter-to-autistics-after-rfk-jrs-statements/
Jacobson, L. (2025, April 23). Fact-checking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s statements on autism. PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-statements-on-autism
- Cooper, Personal Communication, May 8, 2025
Respaut, R., & Dowdell, J. (2025, May 16). Exclusive: Trump administration defunds autism research in DEI and “gender ideology” purge. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trump-administration-cut-autism-related-research-by-26-so-far-2025-2025-05-16/
