Autism Is Not A Disease, It’s a Difference

I have never gotten political on this blog before, and I never intended to. Everyone has their own beliefs and reasons for how they vote, and I respect that. However, with everything going on in the world right now, I cannot stay silent.

If you haven’t heard RFK Jr’s disgusting comments about autism spectrum disorder by now, you’ve been living under a rock. As if his incredibly uninformed verbal garbage on the disorder wasn’t bad enough, now he wants to conduct studies on those with autism, and he’s accessing millions of private medical records through the National Institute of Health to do it. I’m sorry, but I don’t recall giving RFK Jr or his staff permission to view mine, my son’s, or any member of my family’s medical records without permission and I sure as hell didn’t sign up for this study.

Don’t get me wrong- I’m all for more research on autism so we can find better ways to treat the symptoms and help support those living with the disorder. I don’t believe we’ll ever be able to cure autism, but if we can find a way to prevent those people from getting overstimulated or overwhelmed, or new ways to help them communicate and enjoy a better quality of life, I’m all about it. However, people need to give permission for stuff like that; you can’t just go into someone’s medical files and pick and choose which parts of them you use. There are reasons why HIPAA laws were invented, and protecting people’s private information is one of them.

The autism community doesn’t just encompass those on the spectrum; it includes all those who love someone with autism. And friends… the autism community is in chaos. We are appalled. We are enraged. We are disgusted. We are scared.

There is tons of research out there that shows that autism spectrum disorder is a neurological disorder– not a disease. This means it cannot be cured. For Robert F Kennedy Jr. to say that autism is an epidemic similar to the measles or even COVID-19 is not only ridiculous and wildly inappropriate, but dangerous. It reminds of that time someone said we should inject bleach into ourselves to cure COVID-19. Oh, wait a minute…

So many other bloggers and influencers have spoken out about this, and many of them have echoed my own thoughts by saying that that autism has definitely not destroyed our family, as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated. In fact, I’d bet that our entire family would say that Sawyer has been a blessing to all of us and that being part of a special needs family has taught us a lot and helped us grow as people. All the autism parents I know absolutely love and appreciate their child’s uniqueness- even if life can be very challenging and hard at times. You don’t have to be a special needs parent to know that life is not all sunshine and rainbows, but we have to make the best of what we’ve been given in life. Making lemonade out of lemons and all that jazz, right?

One thing I haven’t seen many talk about in the wake RFK Jr’s horrific autism speech is the fear we feel under this administration. The Trump administration has already deported thousands of people they deemed unworthy of being Americans, because they were immigrants. Yes, they originally set out to deport all the illegal immigrants, but now there are cases of legal immigrants who have been deported and the government can’t seem to be able to get them back. Hmmm… Funny how that works. Why were those people deported? Because they were racially profiled, obviously; ICE agents saw people who weren’t white and assumed they were illegals. How much longer until the Trump administration starts looking at people with autism who can’t “hold down a job” or “use a toilet unassisted” and decide that they shouldn’t be allowed to stay here, either? What then?

If you think I’m being stupid or unreasonable, then this issue probably doesn’t affect you or your family. You are lucky-for now. But how long until this administration finds something about you or someone you love they don’t like or accept? Because at the rate they’re going, this is quickly becoming a modern day Holocaust and more and more of us are becoming Jews. Laugh at me if you want. Scoff. Unfollow… block… whatever you have to do. You don’t have to agree with my opinions and thoughts about what’s happening in the world around us. But you do need to sit up and take a good, hard look at what’s really going on here in America. And if you are paying attention and you’re ok with everything that’s been happening? I have no respect for you.

One thing is for certain… The autism community is not going to take this lying down. If there’s one thing we’re good at, it’s fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves. The amassing of all those medical files for RFK Jr’s studies is a gross violation of rights and we will fight against it.