‘Let RFK Try To Help Us’: Families Of Severely Autistic Americans Come To Kennedy’s Defense

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced this past week that he’s commissioning a series of studies to investigate potential environmental causes for autism, and underscored how the rate of autism, including severe autism, is continuing to increase.

Speaking specifically of severe cases of autism, RFK Jr. noted that some children may never grow up to play baseball or even use the bathroom by themselves.

RFK JR: 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 pic.twitter.com/8T3hcYYn9O

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 16, 2025

Some Democrat politicians, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, criticized Kennedy for allegedly standing against people with autism. RFK, however, was met with support from family members of Americans who suffer from severe autism.

“I am not an RFK jr. fan but he just described children with what some would call ‘profound’ or ‘severe’ autism at a press conference and I have already seen so much pushback about how ‘their kid who has autism isn’t like that’ and like……….congratulations???? mine is,” one X user posted.

“For my daughter, autism is not a super power. It makes her life very difficult. She struggles to communicate her needs, it’s hard for her to participate in things with other children. I am not a conspiracy theorist, I am not anti vax, and ‘love on the spectrum’ is not my life,” she continued. “Like on one side you have people telling you that your kid’s disability essentially isn’t that big of a deal and on another they’re saying, ‘We believe you.’ Even if I disagree with their conclusions, they have empathy for me. For my child.”

for my daughter, autism is not a super power. it makes her life very difficult. she struggles to communicate her needs, it’s hard for her to participate in things with other children.

i am not a conspiracy theorist, i am not anti vax, and “love on the spectrum” is not my life.

— emily may (@emilykmay) April 16, 2025

like on one side you have people telling you that your kids disability essentially isn’t that big of a deal and on another they’re saying, “we believe you.”

even if I disagree with their conclusions, they have empathy for me. for my child.

— emily may (@emilykmay) April 16, 2025

Another social media user commented, “As the mother of a daughter with severe autism, mild mental retardation and an intellectual delay, I resent your disdain for Secretary Kennedy’s efforts to research the increasing numbers of autism in America. My daughter was diagnosed over 20 years ago and he is the first Secretary of HHS to show concern for the autistic community. You may not like his choice of words, but his actions are commendable.”

As the mother of a daughter with severe autism, mild mental retardation and an intellectual delay, I resent your disdain for Secretary Kennedy’s efforts to research the increasing numbers of autism in America.

My daughter was diagnosed over 20 years ago and he is the first…

— Lisa Walsh (@LisaWal24884807) April 17, 2025

Another person shared a photo of her 9-year-old son who has severe autism and is “non-speaking.” “He has also had extensive genetic testing and they’ve found nothing not one mutation or gene that points to autism,” she wrote. “I’m glad these folks talking about my son has autism and pays taxes are good, but we’re not. We need all the help we can get because my son will never pay taxes, graduate, have a girlfriend, get married, or even have privacy using the toilet.”

“So if you could please sit down and shut up and let RFK try to help us,” she added. “He’s not talking about you!”

This is my baby he is 9 and has severe autism.
I usually shield him from this ugly world but in light of the recent attacks on autism research I’ll tell you about him
He didn’t get any vaccines until he was 6 years old well beyond his autism diagnosis
So don’t even argue that… pic.twitter.com/62s6vT9P5M

— Isable Jones (@IsableJones919) April 19, 2025

“The ignorance [surrounding] severe autism is actually mind boggling,” another comment said. “My nephew is severely autistic. He is in his 20s, but mentally is 8. He won’t ever be able to work. He won’t ever be able to be in a relationship. He has violent outbursts often. He has to be with my brother-in-law at all times. He does not have any other diagnosis other than severe autism.”

“Pretending people like him don’t exist in the world just because RFK said they did is literally insane,” the person added.

The ignorance surround severe autism is actually mind boggling.

My nephew is severely autistic. He is in his 20s, but mentally is 8. He won’t ever be able to work. He won’t ever be able to be in a relationship. He has violent outbursts often. He has to be with my brother-in-law…

— Libertarian Mama ???? (@LibertarianMama) April 17, 2025

Kennedy said this past week that mold, pesticides, other food chemicals, and medicines could be potential toxins contributing to the autism epidemic. He also suggested ultrasound scans could be a factor, given the timing of such technological advances.

“This is a preventable disease,” he said. “We know it’s environmental exposure. It has to be. Genes do not cause epidemics. It can provide a vulnerability, but you need an environmental toxin.”

“We’re going to announce a series of new studies to identify precisely what the environmental toxins are that are causing it,” the secretary added. “This has not been done before. And we’re going to do it in a thorough and comprehensive way, and we’re gonna get back with an answer to the American people very, very quickly.”

Kennedy also revealed that 1 in 36 children are diagnosed with autism, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study. About 25%, he added, have “severe autism.”

Related: RFK Says ‘We Know’ Environmental Toxins Are Causing Autism Epidemic