Trey Johnson is the Post Opinions copy desk chief.
Getting a diagnosis of autism or special needs for your child will break your world. It will break your expectations. It will drive you into the ground. You will not sleep. You will not eat. You will be frozen.
Then you look at your child, and you know you have a job to do: Love them.
The Post’s description of autism is pretty good: It is “a spectrum of neurological conditions that affect how people communicate, behave and interact with others.” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s view of autism — disparaging the lives of those on the spectrum and using their disorder to push the discredited view that vaccines are the cause — is not.
I have an 11-year-old special-needs child. He is not actually diagnosed with autism, but he shares many of the traits and habits and cognitive issues. Health providers have told my wife and me that he is an edge case for an autism diagnosis. So, I speak from our experience with a neurodivergent child. Other parents’ experiences will be very different.
A clip of Kennedy talking on Wednesday about autism has been making the rounds. Let’s break down his main points.
“Autism destroys families,” Kennedy said. Yes, it does. It is difficult to manage, and children and adults on the spectrum face and present innumerable challenges to those who care for and love them. Know what else destroys families? Alcohol or drug abuse. Infidelity. Money problems. Gun violence. Deported immigrants separated from their children. Families struggle to survive many challenges.
“More importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children,” he continued. “These are children who should not be suffering like this.” Children and adults on the autism spectrum are not destroyed by the condition. They are affected by it. Their responses to the world are different from those of neurotypical individuals. And how they react to stimuli can be difficult for them and those around them. Individuals with the most severe symptoms can be cut off from the world or violent to others. But they deserve our love, not our disdain. And they do not deserve to be used as props.
“These are kids who — many of them were fully functional and regressed, because of some environmental exposure, into autism when they’re 2 years old,” Kennedy said. The number of cases of autism has risen over the years. A big reason for that is improved screening. One of the reasons our son is not considered autistic is because of the improved testing around his intellectual disability due to a genetic anomaly. We know more now, and we can make a better world for those on the spectrum. We also know, from numerous scientific studies, that vaccines do not cause autism.
“And these are kids who will never pay taxes,” he said. Ah, here it is. Is this what bugs RFK and others? They won’t pay taxes? They are a drain on the economy and, thus, worthless?
“They’ll never hold a job.” Individuals on the spectrum hold down a variety of jobs, earning money and, yes, paying taxes. Are there limitations to what jobs are available to them? Sure, but autism is not the only thing that can affect what job you get. Sometimes, the greatest skill a person brings to the table is nepotism. Our son will probably never hold a traditional job, but he will find a vocation that works for him and brings him fulfillment.
“They’ll never play baseball.” False. My son’s Buddy Ball baseball league starts at the end of the month. A better person might invite Kennedy to watch these kids play a game. I am not that person.
“They’ll never write a poem.” Try reading Adam Wolfond’s poem about water and tell me those on the spectrum are not poets: “Like water I am thinking time/ open and following eager going/ pathways and open going nowhere.”
“They’ll never go out on a date.” Well, this is uncharted territory for us. My wife and I are nervous about this next stage, but probably no more than the parents of neurotypical children. Our son loves and is loved. He is the most outgoing person I know. He can talk himself onto a fire truck and has conned the trash guys into letting him work the controls. Love arrives in many ways for all of us, and for those with autism, too.
“Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.” My son still can’t go to the bathroom unassisted, and it is a challenge every time we go out. But I will point out that the adult diaper category — for those, say, 71 or so — is the fastest-growing segment of the global diaper market. So it isn’t just individuals with autism who need a little help.
“And we have to recognize we are doing this to our children. And we need to put an end to it.” What we need to end is the stigmatization of those with autism. The stigmatization of those with special needs. The condemnation of lifesaving vaccines.
Kennedy’s rants about autism do nothing to help.
