I’m not going to repeat anything RFK Jr said about autism, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment. I saw someone say that fixating on his language was petty, but his language dehumanizes people. Crimes against humanity always begin with dehumanizing language. It’s happened to the autistic community before. We don’t want to see it happen again. Nothing this administration has said or, more importantly, done indicates the good intentions some wish to infer. If someone’s worried about environmental factors, they don’t gut the FDA and environmental protections.
While RFK Jr noted that autism is a spectrum disorder, he used statistics for increases in autism overall (1 in 31) to discuss profound autism specifically (1 in 250). The biggest increase in profound autism has been seen in non-white females but the administration banned references to race and gender in scientific studies, which poses a challenge to researching anything and everything. Anyone who cares about environmental factors would not want to hinder research into racial disparities in exposure to air pollution or water pollution. Then again, anyone promising answers by a set deadline probably lacks a genuine interest in scientific inquiry and acquiring or analyzing data.
But enough about RFK Jr. and the rest of the current administration.
I have a personal anecdote leading into a mini history lesson. Before one of my sons was diagnosed with ADHD, I asked that he be screened for Asperger’s because I was in denial despite already knowing I had ADHD (and doing nothing about it because I was “just fine” – no, no I was not). Aspergers wasn’t treated with medication but ADHD was, and at the time, I still allowed the stigma to impair myself and my son.
The psychologist explained Asperger’s was no longer a separate diagnosis, and she gave me a form for autism. As I filled it out, I realized a couple of things: 1) my son wasn’t on the spectrum, and 2) I didn’t know as much about autism as I thought. I got over the stigma, and now we take a non-stimulant that eases our ADHD symptoms. He’s not only thriving, but he knows more about geography, world history, and international politics than your average politician. Not a mom brag. Just facts. He also rediscovered his passion for astrophysics after years of worrying he needed to work in a factory instead of pursuing college, likely due to political discourse he encountered in his self-driven pursuit of knowledge. While his brother is less academically inclined, he’s sharp and insightful.
As an aside, some people can be autistic and have ADHD – and still lead “productive” lives. People whose brains work differently aren’t destined for failure any more than people who are neurotypical are destined for success. We all have different challenges to overcome, and different visions of success.
Onto the mini history lesson. Something else I learned is where the name Aspergers came from. He was a Nazi doctor misrepresented as a Schindler-esque figure who decided which children were “high functioning” enough to work, and which should be killed. He described one child sent to her death, Herta Schreiber, as “an unbearable burden to her mother.” Lorna Wing named what some call “high functioning autism” Asperger’s Syndrome after him in 1981. It entered the DSM in 1991 until its removal in 2013. It’s not only frightening, but an important reminder to take anything relating to the study of neurodivergence with more than a few grains of salt.
Until recently, people with neurological disorders were decentered in conversations about diagnosis and treatment, which focused on how we put others out rather than how we ourselves were put out. I don’t want to see us go backward in that regard.
And I never want to hear children reduced to “resources” or commodities.
States like Kentucky and Florida are working to revise child labor protections and undermine their educational rights. Public education remains threatened nationwide to varying degrees.
You don’t make anything great by repeating past mistakes.
“And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is. ” – Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum
I’ll leave readers with a link to a joint statement by multiple autism advocacy groups that share certain key principals. I trust them and my own insights over self-serving politicians who speak with forked tongues.
