RFK Jr. said that autism “destroys” life. Autistic people do not agree.

The remarks of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week that autism “destroys” children aroused indignation among many autistic people and their families. They said they had done things that, according to him, were impossible – to occupy a job, write a poem, play baseball, go to an appointment – and added that the lives of people who needed help with daily activities were always worthy of respect.

“Autism does not destroy families. It is the capable who does it,” said Tyla Grant, who was diagnosed with autism at 17. She described Mr. Kennedy’s comments to “reconcile” and declared that her “rhetoric flattens our existence in this obsolete stereotype”.

Many parents of autistic children have said that they feared that Mr. Kennedy’s remarks do not have efforts to destigmatize autism and connect families to the support services.

“How will our children survive if they are considered a tragedy?” said Kim Cristo, whose 17 -year -old daughter is “essentially non -verbal” but has a fulfilling social life, loves music and makes yoga and karate. “How can we make their lives significant if they are rejected as lost causes?”

Kennedy made his comments at a press conference on Wednesday to discuss new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that showed that autism diagnoses in children in the United States have continued to increase. Although the increase is largely considered to be motivated by enlarged criteria and increased awareness, Mr. Kennedy falsely declared that autism was avoidable and qualified the situation as an epidemic.

“These are children who will never pay taxes,” he said, adding: “Many of them will never use toilets without help.”