Many posts have discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. (He also has a bad record on disability issues more generally.) The story that Trump might appoint anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head a presidential commission -- whether on vaccines or autism -- has provoked widespread reactions.
At US News, Jessica Berthold criticizes the vaccine-autism myth and says that our focus should go elsewhere:
Better yet, let's take a preventive approach that not only acknowledges the many people already living with autism in this country, but provides resources that enable people with autism to thrive in their families and communities. The need is great, for all with autism but particularly those in lower-income communities: for better diagnosis and screening, for early intervention and ongoing treatment, for better insurance/Medicaid coverage, for school supports, for respite care for caregivers, for housing and employment options once autistic people age out of the school system, and for embracing autistic people as full members of our society. I know firsthand that fighting for your child to get adequate treatment and appropriate education is a full-time job. I know – from speaking with many parents in my community – that it becomes much harder once your autistic child is out of secondary school and in the real world, where the employment rate for autistic people is abysmal and the quirks seen as "cute" in a young child are viewed in an adult as off-putting or even dangerous. And I know that I'm a privileged, well-educated woman with a decent salary – how much more overwhelming this fight for your child must be when you face additional discrimination or lack the resources to fully mobilize the limited systems and supports that currently exist? Instead of throwing money and time at a conspiracy theory that's long been stripped of credibility, let's devote our resources to equity for all with autism.
