Because the mom of an autistic 6-year-old, I’m deeply alarmed by Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newest declare that Tylenol causes autism. This concept has been totally discredited by physicians and diagnostic consultants. Autism has a transparent genetic element, but in a rustic the place skepticism towards science runs deep, myths like these proceed to thrive, fueled by falsified research and amplified by algorithms on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
We’ve been right here earlier than. In 2005, greater than 5,000 households sued vaccine corporations, satisfied by the false declare that vaccines had been accountable for his or her kids’s autism. RFK Jr. has constructed his profession on fueling that worry. He dismisses science and speaks as if all of us didn’t witness how the COVID-19 vaccine helped cease our nation from dropping numerous lives to this virus.
I used to be a teen within the ’90s once I first used the web for analysis, and by my early 20s, I used to be a part of the elder-millennial wave that overshared on MySpace, Fb and LiveJournal. But that “oversharing” turned one thing highly effective: It gave neurodivergent adults a option to discover each other and acknowledge that autism wasn’t a single, inflexible class however a spectrum of experiences. The discharge of the DSM-5, or Diagnostic and Statistical Guide, in 2013 confirmed what many already knew: It acknowledged autism as a spectrum and allowed for co-diagnoses like ADHD and autism, which have mirroring traits, quite than forcing clinicians to decide on one over the opposite because the DSM-IV had.
Social media has since amplified each hurt and hope. On one hand, conspiracy theories unfold quicker than ever. Kennedy’s declare about Tylenol is just the latest chapter in a protracted historical past of exploiting dad and mom’ fears. Alternatively, on-line areas have given autistic folks a platform to share their experiences, to problem outdated stereotypes and to say that autism just isn’t one thing to be “cured” however an identification to be understood, revered and embraced via the incorporation of neuroinclusivity throughout each system, from workplaces to varsities.
As a mom, I’ve seen firsthand the fantastic thing about my youngster’s thoughts and the distinctive methods they transfer via the world. Autism just isn’t a tragedy — it’s a part of human variety. The actual tragedy lies in how society responds: by underfunding accessibility and the assist programs that households with neurodivergent kids rely upon, and by letting conspiracy theories drown out science. When public figures like RFK Jr. stoke worry as a substitute of compassion, the result’s extra stigma, extra division and fewer sources for the households who want them.
Most worrisome is how this rhetoric frames autism as one thing to be eradicated. Historical past reminds us how harmful it’s when societies view disabled folks as disposable. We can not afford to repeat these errors beneath the guise of “well being” or “cures.”
The reality is that autism has at all times been right here. It didn’t abruptly seem with vaccines, Tylenol or the rise of the web. What has modified is our consciousness. Science has superior, diagnostic standards have developed and autistic voices are lastly being heard. We can not enable that progress to be undone by recycled lies disguised because the gospel of fact.
We’re at a crossroads. We both keep silent, paralyzed by nervousness about make a distinction on this dystopian America, or we act. One path leads deeper into conspiracy and worry; the opposite leads again to leaders who’re each certified and compassionate — individuals who put proof, well being and humanity first. The selection is ours. We should channel our internal power to talk out, marketing campaign and demand higher leaders in our group. If we do, RFK Jr. won’t form the way forward for this nation. He’ll stay what he must be: a cautionary story, a reminder of what occurs when worry is allowed to shout louder than fact.
