The RFK-Autism Conspiracy Theory
This Will Hurt Kids
Something about autism seems to attract conspiracy theories and quackery. Maybe because the inability to talk is something out of a horror movie. Maybe because some autistic people also have unusual talents. Maybe because the number of children with an autism diagnosis keeps rising.
As so happens with conspiracy theories, autism conspiracies are not harmless. They inadvertently hurt people. The theory that autism is caused by vaccines — an idea that has run rampant through religious communities, groups of earthy-crunchy yoga moms in California, and libertarians — has resulted in the return of nearly eradicated diseases, including measles, mumps, and rubella. Good job, crazy people!
Swirling around communities like mine, the gossip is that parents shouldn’t get an autism diagnosis for their children, because RFK will put them on an autism registry list and control them. They even think that the doctors are in league with RFK to control people with disabilities.
It might seem rational to point a finger at the extreme right for this ridiculous theory. The right does have an impressive track record with insanity. But in this case, latest crazy shit seems to be coming from the left, because craziness is bipartisan.
RFK is going to put a lot of resources into studying autism.
He will make it easier for researchers to study existing cases of autism.
They will have access to a wide range of data sources, including medical records, pharmacies, and fitness trackers.
This research is aimed at proving RFK’s theories about autism. He believes that it is caused by vaccines or some other external environmental condition. So, the conspiracy theory that autism is caused by vaccines has resulted in another conspiracy theory. Nice. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Why is RFK so hell-bent on autism research? Yes, he does have support from the earthy-crunchy yoga moms in California. But it’s also because autism is expensive and complicated. This is about finding a way to save government money.
As a mom with a 23-year-old autistic son, let me just say for the record: I don’t care. I think this research is an enormous waste of time and resources, because I ultimately don’t believe that there is one cause of autism. I think that there are several different autisms, which are caused by genetics and may be triggered by a range of environmental conditions. I can’t imagine that data from a fitness tracker will be useful.
Of course, people should formally agree to be included in any research study before the government tracks their steps on the Fitbits. But individuals should also be aware that none of their data is private. If you're accused of a crime, the cops will look at your Fitbit data.
All scientific research has to go through strict ethical review at the onset, so RFK’s proposal probably won’t be approved in its current form. In the meantime, people are losing their minds.
Some people think that doctors are in league with RFK to control our children. Seriously. Some believe that money has been exchanged. The next step will be to round up the weirdos.
I’m hearing parents tell other parents to NOT go to the doctor for an autism diagnosis for their child. Overnight, an autism diagnosis has become undesirable. Just last week, there was a three-year wait for an autism diagnosis in some areas in this country. What’s going to happen if this fear takes hold?
It is important to get an autism diagnosis because it opens the doors for therapy and acceptance.
An autism diagnosis opens up doors for therapy that is approved by insurance. Even families with Medicaid can get up to forty hours a week of ABA therapy for their children.
An autism diagnosis means that the school district has to provide specialized therapy and treatment for children aged 3 to 21.
An autism diagnosis helps parents and family members understand why a child is unable to sit still in church or has a meltdown in Target.
An autism diagnosis provides “membership” in a growing family of other autistic families, who understand your struggles in a way that nobody else can.
An autism diagnosis means political power to advocate for the needs of this disabled community.
Please fight back against this latest craziness. It will hurt our kids.
Related
A speech therapist on Instagram said that a decrease in the autism rate will validate RFK’s false theories.
Please excuse any typos. I wrote this essay in 45 minutes before work today. If you have angry things to say, I won’t see them until this evening, so save your energy.
I think you're underrating the significant intensification of eugenicist thinking on the far right, including from people who have connections to the administration. RFK Jr. certainly has sounded at times like he's paying attention to that discourse. And it's important to note that one of the differences between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0 is that this time around, the planners inside the administration have gone looking for underused legal precedents and fringe legal theories to provide cover for a lot of what they want to do, and the uncomfortable fact in this regard is that the legal backing for eugenicist policies from the first half of the 20th Century in the United States is still substantially intact, including Buck v. Bell.
And, another thing: Isn't it amazing that writing a post such as this one takes 45 min, but reading it only takes a fifteenth of that time...and flying off the handle about it can be done in just the time it takes for a few electrical and chemical signals to cross synapses?