My son's Autism was not "preventable" Mr. Secretary, nor was it "induced"

And he works, pays taxes, graduated from high school and college, is a great human being. All people have worth and should not be subject to inaccurate stereotypes.

The HHS Secretary said this week that autism is “preventable.” And then listed many inaccurate sterotypes about all people with autism, that they “never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted."

I am the proud father of an adult son who has a diagnosis of autism, which doctors gave him at the age of 18 months. Literally none of the stereotypes laid out by the HHS Secretary describe my son. My son is lovable, thoughtful and talented, intuitive, passionate and compassionate. He graduated from one of the best high schools in the state and has a college certificate, has a job and works for pay, pays taxes, has written a book, and, yes, he can use the toilet unassisted.

And my son’s autism disorder was NOT preventable. We know for certain that he has a gene deletion (a 16p11.2 deletion), which has been found in nearly all cases to lead to developmental delays, with features of autistic disorders. In that, he shares what many of us do, a genetic presdisposition that leads to chronic medical conditions. For example, his father (me) gets migraines, and in all likelihood because of my genetic history.

Everyone who knows my son knows that he is lovable, sweet, incredibly witty, with a big heart. He loves people and especially loves animals. All of us face obstacles in life, but despite these my son persevered past these challenges to learn how to speak (though his speech was delayed until he was four years old), and to learn other physical functions that often come quickly to most children. Through an intense amount of therapy of all types — including speech, occupational, developmental therapy — he progressed to the point where he can perform nearly all functions needed by an adult.

He would not have achieved this without an incredible array of love and support from his parents and his brother and without also an incredible outpouring of love and support from his grandmother, his aunts and uncles, and his cousins. But also he benefited from great teachers and therapists — many of them truly exceptional — and through special education provided by a preschool, and the public and private grade schools he attended. He graduated from one of the best high schools in the state, but still needed the help of post graduation programs that taught him job skills, and a very supportive set of government programs (local, county, state and federal government support).

There are no doubt challenges he will face for the rest of his life. And he will always need the support of his parents and family, and government. But through an incredible amount of work and perseverance, he obtained a paying job, which he has held for over four years. So he does work, he does pay taxes, Mr. Secretary. (But even if he could not, all people have worth.)

When the Secretary of HHS speaks out and spreads misconceptions and stereotypes about people with autism and, worse, scientific falsehoods (that vaccines cause autism), this does damage to the important issue of helping autistic people, their parents, their families and their loved ones. Also, the falsehoods lead to emotional harm and pain, especially for people with autism and their loved ones. It is shocking that a government official, let alone the HHS Secretary, would make comments that are so false, misleading and hurtful. Worse, planned efforts to further spread falsehoods about autism apparently is on the agenda of the HHS Secretary.

I know many people with autistic traits who are incredibly accomplished human beings. Some are college professors, scientists, accomplished authors, CEOs, or members of the President’s administration. Many are not so famous, but are also lovable, compassionate human beings.

It would be helpful now if the HHS Secretary disavows his comments about autism and commits to a more scientific, evidence-based and compassionate approach to this highly important subject. It is true that there are a lot of people who have been identified as being on the autism spectrum, and this creates public policy challenges. But it requires a more thoughtful and compassionate approach.

Respecting neurodiversity requires that we respect all individuals, across the diverse spectrum of neurological capabilities and talents. Great societies also must respect those who face challenges, whether they are people with autism, or people with any other genetic or chronic disorder. Social justice and human compassion compels us to care for the “least of these”. Every person has worth, whether they can work, pay taxes, write a poem, use the toilet or not. That, personally, has always been at its core my central value and my passion as an academic, but also as a human being and father.

Because, after all, to quote the Secretary’s Uncle John Kennedy, “let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future.”

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Note, addenda: on May 22, 2025, President Trump said: “When you hear 10,000, it was 1 in 10,000, and now it’s 1 in 31 for autism, I think that’s just a terrible thing. It has to be something on the outside, has to be artificially induced, has to be,” at a MAHA Commission event.

So to add to what I wrote above, I would add that my son’s autism was not artifically induced. As noted above, he has a genetic disorder that led to his autism, we know for sure. While that is just one case, there is much data to show that most people with autism can identify genetics as a major reason for their autism, though the rise of the prevelance of autism is linked to a number of known sources, including and perhaps most importantly, increased diagnosis or identification of autism as the cause of developmental disabilities. an exhausative amount of research has debunked the theory that vaccines “induced” the rise in autism.

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