My Son Is Not an Epidemic

In 2017, when a nurse got here into the room and advised my spouse and I that our son Noah, who was 2 on the time, was autistic the phrases didn’t destroy us. What they did was wipe away the fog of uncertainty, and supply a recreation plan that may have him receiving all of the help he wants.

Which is why, practically eight years later, listening to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — now the secretary of Well being and Human Companies — stand at a podium and describe youngsters like my son as a part of an “autism epidemic,” allegedly attributable to unnamed “environmental toxins,” appears like whiplash.

Kennedy stood earlier than the cameras and declared that youngsters like Noah “won’t ever pay taxes, by no means maintain a job, by no means use a rest room unassisted.” He referred to as autism “a preventable illness” and promised a lightning-fast investigation to root out its so-called environmental causes. He brushed apart a long time of scientific analysis and equated a posh neurodevelopmental situation with contamination.

That is the person chargeable for guiding the USA’ nationwide well being coverage.

Let that sink in.

This isn’t merely misinformation. It’s a complete new degree of fear-mongering. It’s the Twenty first-century model of a con artist in a lab coat — easy speak, false guarantees and no science.

Let me let you know what autism really seems like.

It seems like Noah sitting cross-legged on the ground, reciting the names of each planet in our photo voltaic system — backward — as a result of that’s extra enjoyable for him. It seems like him sketching out elaborate mazes in his pocket book, inventing characters with their very own tales and voices. It’s imitating his favourite episodes of “Spongebob Squarepants” and modifying collectively movies on his pill system that may make Thelma Schoonmaker somewhat bit jealous. It seems like pleasure, wrestle, development and humanity.

And it seems just like the extraordinary autistic adults I’ve come to satisfy, know and admire due to collection similar to Netflix’s “Love on the Spectrum,” which gives what Kennedy clearly lacks: respect and understanding.

In three seasons, we’ve seen autistic individuals go on dates, fall in love, get married — and sure, write poems, inform jokes and maintain jobs.

The infectiously lovable Tanner from South Carolina holds a full-time job at a lodge and lives with roommates — contributing extra to our society than most of the individuals presently concerned within the Trump administration.

Dani is a vibrant and hilarious lady with a job, a deep love for animation, and the type of emotional intelligence that would depart most politicians within the mud.

And Connor? The completely adoring man from Georgia who has a particular love for “Sport of Thrones,” reads books, and has grow to be a social media sensation as a result of the world is in awe of the respect he confirmed whereas on a date with the equally wonderful Georgie. He politely requested for consent — a phrase our POTUS will not be too aware of — earlier than the pair shared their first kiss in his yard, below an umbrella, whereas it rained.

None of those adults are victims. None of them are burdens. And never certainly one of them matches Kennedy’s cartoonish depiction of helplessness.

Not solely are Kennedy’s phrases totally dehumanizing, however learn the room, bro. The speech got here lower than 24 hours after Victor Perez, a 17-year-old Idaho teenager with autism, was laid to relaxation after being shot 9 occasions by police this month. The 4 officers concerned within the capturing had been instantly positioned on administrative depart and felony and inside investigations had been launched, with the Japanese Idaho Vital Incident Job Power conducting an exterior investigation.

Kennedy reduces the wealthy, different experiences of autistic individuals to a punchline in his dumbfounding press convention.

And let’s be critical right here: It’s additionally simply scientifically lazy.

The rise in autism diagnoses isn’t some sinister explosion. It’s the results of expanded diagnostic standards, higher consciousness, and broader entry to evaluations, particularly in traditionally underserved communities. Pediatricians and little one psychologists — you realize, the precise specialists — say that is excellent news. It means children are getting the help they want earlier, when it may possibly make the largest distinction.

However Kennedy dismisses all of that. He’s dragging the nation backward into the discredited territory of vaccine conspiracies and poisoned-air paranoia — all whereas ignoring the voices of precise autistic individuals and the researchers who perceive the complexities of this situation.

Right here’s the easy reality: Autism will not be attributable to one factor. It’s not one thing you catch. It’s not a single dysfunction. It’s a spectrum of neurological variations — formed by a mosaic of genetic, organic and environmental elements — and lived by thousands and thousands of people who deserve help, not suspicion. And that most likely may embrace many individuals studying this column proper now who’ve by no means obtained a proper prognosis.

It’s not a disaster. It’s a name to inclusion. I don’t know if Noah pays taxes sometime. That’s not due to his prognosis — it’s as a result of he’s 10.

However what I do know is that this: He’s succesful. He’s form. He’s studying. And he’s already defied each slender prediction made about him.

And if I’ve to sit down via yet one more authorities official turning my son right into a soundbite for political capital, I’ll preserve writing. Loudly. And so will the dad and mom of thousands and thousands of autistic youngsters who’re mortified on the depiction of their youngsters, and can undoubtedly reject this premise on the poll field.

My son will not be a tragedy. He’s not a burden. And he’s undoubtedly not your speaking level.

He’s not an epidemic. He’s Noah.

So, within the inspirational phrases of Will Smith: Maintain my son’s title out your fucking mouth.