The Revolution Must Include Neurodivergent Empowerment
An essay I wrote for the end of World Autism Month 2025
When I was born in 1992, it was estimated that approximately 1 in 2500 people in the United States were autistic. Since then, that number has risen to 1 in 36 according to the latest CDC estimates from 2023. Despite the alarmism we’ve seen from some who refer to autism as an “epidemic”, these new statistics are not cause for alarm. Rather, this is reflective of new information on what autism is and what autism isn’t. As the diagnostic criteria have evolved to be more reflective of the wider spectrum of autistic people, the conversation surrounding autism has changed as well.
This Autism Acceptance Month, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. caused some pushback with some comments that feel like a blast from the past, arguing that children diagnosed with autism are incapable of basic tasks like holding a job or using the toilet, not to mention incapable of displaying unique talents, such as playing baseball or writing poetry. While progress as been made toward acceptance and empowerment of neurodivergent people, our current HHS Secretary’s latest falsehoods are a harsh reminder of how many people still stuck with the “old way” of thinking about autism.
It’s worth mentioning that comments like RFK’s are nothing new to the autistic community. Cringeworthy as they are, his comments echo the rhetoric of so-called “advocacy” groups like Autism Speaks. Over the years, they have argued that autistic children that have a “disease” that need to be cured, and that they are an unfortunate – if not tragic – burden on their parents, educators & on broader society. They are known for being run primarily by neurotypical “advocates”, while historically excluding actually autistic voices. Can you imagine if there was an organization advocating for women run entirely by men? Or a group advocating for the civil rights of black Americans led by white Americans? Given this context, their declining influence in recent years should be unsurprising, but the misinformation they’ve infected the public with can still be seen in the current administration.