Three gentlemen have requested "sourcing" be included.
There are two videos and over 50 hyperlinks for sourcing in this piece. And many of those links lead to further sourcing. That's not everything I looked at, but at some point there needs to be a cap on embedded links.
If anyone has something specific they don't understand or find unsupported, please comment here and I'll find sourcing for you.
Some things about RFK Jr.'s history are what I consider common knowledge. Therefore, sourcing is focused more on autism science and history than RFK Jr.'s personal life or parasites.
I don't care if you went to Joe's Medical school or whatever. You are asserting absurd conclusions by skewing a narrow group of facts. Malpractice takes many forms. Statistics can be arranged in many ways. Good luck!
I may have been diagnosed in my sixties, but am well educated , medically trained and have a number of relatives that likely have asd. Medicine and science, for that matter, are deeply broken. Peer reviewed publications, and medicine being used as a means bypass legal rights have destroyed it. You would not be the first doctor I have crossed path with that has his own agenda. Why don't you spend some time reading on OMIM, because I would hate to think you are justv a bad actor.
"check out my zero likes substack" says the sad grifter; maybe time to start flogging dietary supplements or high fiber suppositories; you could do something useful for a change like help someone take a shit
Autistic here. We don't use ASD and we don't say people "have" or are "with" autism. We are autistic. Identity first language instead of person first language please. We are not sick.
I used to be called an Aspie. My diagnosis used to be Asperger syndrome. I now use autistic and ASD. But sometimes I still slip and use the diagnosis I had for over a decade.
I also used to be called an Indian, an American Indian, a Native American, a Native, and now I prefer to use my specific Nations or Tribes or Indigenous American.
But my Unči (Grandmother) called herself an Indian her entire life—and I managed not to police her language because her message was more important than how she identified herself. And sometimes I use one of the many other terms we used to identify ourselves in the past or I use NDN or N8V.
Language evolves, but that doesn't mean we're all on the same page 100% of the time.
If the only thing you see of importance in this entire piece, your only takeaway was the need to police my language about an identity I share... OK. You do you.
There needs to be as lot less language policing, especially since what's acceptable changes so rapidly. I think most of us can tell whether there's malevolent intent. I found the piece engrossing as far as I could read, but I think my brainwork told me it's not safe to read more than a certain number of words about RFK Jr.
But am I not also a member of your community? Wouldn't the language I use about myself also be valid, even if it doesn't always exactly match what you prefer? Or are my words diminished because of that? If I slip and use Aspie, do I lose my autism card?
You don’t use ASD, but many people do. Are they not allowed? Who gets to make that decision for them?
Despite the target it apparently now places on my back—national registry, here I come—I've been very vocal on Substack about my neurodivergence. Yet your comment is exclusionary and dismissive.
"We don't..." Clearly we do, because I just did.
You could have provided examples where you think it was worded wrong.
There aren't many because I spent years getting hammered by "us" for using the identity first language I preferred, so I switched to person first at the request of "people with autism" and now I'm getting to go back to what I did before my fellow autistics told me I couldn't do it, but still getting chastised if it's not 100% worded how one autistic wants it.
So, maybe instead of making false assumptions and telling writers things they already know—I'm aware I'm not sick, my autism has worked quite well for me—give specific examples where you feel the language doesn't suit you then accept that how you wish to identify yourself may not be how another person does.
Of all the terrifying problems caused by Trump, RFK, Jr. is tRump’s most dangerous decision. He was also confirmed, of course, with the full knowledgable and consent of Congress. God help us!
The horrible damage done by myths of what it is to be normal. And the horrible damage done by conspiracy theorists who market assumptions to a population inclined to consume assumptions rather than examine assumptions.
Thank you for making many good points. I, too, have only my personal experiences with which I can evaluate Kennedy's claims. First, my sister was born in 1961. By the time she was two (check) we could see that she was not developing normally (check). Because she developed language and did not need physical assistance, doctors at the time determined she did not have autism. Rather, they said she was "brain-damaged, not otherwise specified". This left her, and us her family, in a kind of limbo without support services (check).
It was not until 1995 when we learned of Asperger's Syndrome. Please look this up if you are unfamiliar with the term, and learn why Asperger's insights languished for fifty years. At some point, Asperger's Syndrome was folded into autism spectrum disorder. None of this changed my sister's behavior, of course, but it was reassuring to know there was a "diagnosis." And now, there ARE support systems for people like my sister, more awareness, less shaming, less shunning. The burden on our family was not because my sister was "unproductive"; it was because we were isolated by her differences and we literally feared for her survival.
Of course she was not visible in 1961, or even in 1990. Epidemic? Maybe. Maybe we literally understand neurodivergence better. Our diagnosis tools are better. Brain scans were not available until the last few decades, if they are helpful at all.
Regarding environmental causes, I do understand that there are far more chemicals surrounding us than there were since the 1950s, and I know that very few have been tested for toxicity. So it's very possible that environmental factors are causing illnesses in children. But I am aware that human beings are incredibly complex. You point out that Kennedy is untrained - and you are correct. We can't leave it up to him to improve our health.
Also, about this "Regarding environmental causes, I do understand that there are far more chemicals surrounding us than there were since the 1950s..."
That's inaccurate.
There are less now than before the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, than before the EPA, than before industrial regulations. But the Trump administration is working hard to go back to using water and land as toxic waste dumps and increasing pollution of all kinds.
History points to two peaks for environmental toxins: the Industrial Revolution (roughly 1876-1900) and just before most of our federal environmental and food safety regulations were enacted (roughly peaking in the 1970s).
My research on chemicals (meaning "organic" chemicals, not occurring in nature) has mostly focussed on pesticides. From what I have learned, farm chemical use peaked around 1981 and has declined slightly over the past three decades. But only slightly, and when one toxic substance is banned, another one replaces it - which may also be bad (glyphosate is one notorious example). It's quite maddening, like a Hydra.
Now there's a lot of fuss about PFAS and also micro-plastics. It's well known that only a small percentage of these substances have been fully tested. Some of them may affect the human body in ways we don't understand, even at tiny doses. This is not to say the EPA and the Clean Acts haven't helped us make progress - they have - but I don't believe we are even close to comprehending how these substances affect us.
And you are correct, Amelia. We will now be going backwards.
I can think of one person who is a "family destroyer and a drain on the economy" on a mass level. RFK Jr can find him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. in the big White House with pillars.
From what I've read, RFK Jr. has been a sick, malevolent individual from childhood. Tragically, he was never diagnosed and his dangerous condition went untreated. Maybe his grandiosity is his way of running from his psychosis. Whatever the case, he is a madman who is clearly unfit to wield the power he's been given. He has done and will continue to do great harm left unchecked. This is so very wrong and It's beyond belief that we do not have the power to remove this destructive, severely mentally ill individual from running one of the worlds most preeminent health institutions.
Back in the olden days - circa 1969 - I had a friend who had a younger brother who behaved oddly. At least that's how we described it. While Mark and I would be watching reruns of old Three Stooges or Superman shows, his brother would sit on the couch rocking and humming a monotonous "tune". He'd always done it, as far as Mark was concerned, so it was no big deal. Mark and his family moved away a few years later and I never heard from him again. I'd bet just about anything that his younger brother would have been diagnosed as autistic had anyone, beyond a few doctors beginning to identify the symptoms, looked at him. We didn't know what to look for in those days, so it went undiagnosed and - consequently - massively under reported. I sometimes wonder if I might be on the spectrum too. Mention a date, and with just a moments delay, I can usually tell you the day of the week, or the other way around. I can also look at a small collection of items (for example, the number of pills left in my blood pressure medication) and give a reasonably accurate number. Same with time, I don't usually have to look at a timepiece to tell you the time within 15 minutes of the actual time. I dunno.
RFK, Jr. is just getting warmed up. I look for mandatory consumption of raw milk by school children and a list of physicians who ever worked on vaccines. Dr. Fauci may spend his last years as a prisoner in some federal gulag. RFK will also require mandatory exposure to the measles virus so that children will develop 'natural' immunity to this disease. If some kids die, well, that's natural selection!
Three gentlemen have requested "sourcing" be included.
There are two videos and over 50 hyperlinks for sourcing in this piece. And many of those links lead to further sourcing. That's not everything I looked at, but at some point there needs to be a cap on embedded links.
If anyone has something specific they don't understand or find unsupported, please comment here and I'll find sourcing for you.
Some things about RFK Jr.'s history are what I consider common knowledge. Therefore, sourcing is focused more on autism science and history than RFK Jr.'s personal life or parasites.
Autistic here. There is no epidemic. We are not sick.
I don't care if you went to Joe's Medical school or whatever. You are asserting absurd conclusions by skewing a narrow group of facts. Malpractice takes many forms. Statistics can be arranged in many ways. Good luck!
I may have been diagnosed in my sixties, but am well educated , medically trained and have a number of relatives that likely have asd. Medicine and science, for that matter, are deeply broken. Peer reviewed publications, and medicine being used as a means bypass legal rights have destroyed it. You would not be the first doctor I have crossed path with that has his own agenda. Why don't you spend some time reading on OMIM, because I would hate to think you are justv a bad actor.
"check out my zero likes substack" says the sad grifter; maybe time to start flogging dietary supplements or high fiber suppositories; you could do something useful for a change like help someone take a shit
Autistic here. We don't use ASD and we don't say people "have" or are "with" autism. We are autistic. Identity first language instead of person first language please. We are not sick.
Autistic here and the author of this piece.
I used to be called an Aspie. My diagnosis used to be Asperger syndrome. I now use autistic and ASD. But sometimes I still slip and use the diagnosis I had for over a decade.
I also used to be called an Indian, an American Indian, a Native American, a Native, and now I prefer to use my specific Nations or Tribes or Indigenous American.
But my Unči (Grandmother) called herself an Indian her entire life—and I managed not to police her language because her message was more important than how she identified herself. And sometimes I use one of the many other terms we used to identify ourselves in the past or I use NDN or N8V.
Language evolves, but that doesn't mean we're all on the same page 100% of the time.
If the only thing you see of importance in this entire piece, your only takeaway was the need to police my language about an identity I share... OK. You do you.
There needs to be as lot less language policing, especially since what's acceptable changes so rapidly. I think most of us can tell whether there's malevolent intent. I found the piece engrossing as far as I could read, but I think my brainwork told me it's not safe to read more than a certain number of words about RFK Jr.
Oh no that is not the only thing I took from the piece. I just wanted to point out the right verbiage to use that the autistic community prefers.
But am I not also a member of your community? Wouldn't the language I use about myself also be valid, even if it doesn't always exactly match what you prefer? Or are my words diminished because of that? If I slip and use Aspie, do I lose my autism card?
You don’t use ASD, but many people do. Are they not allowed? Who gets to make that decision for them?
Despite the target it apparently now places on my back—national registry, here I come—I've been very vocal on Substack about my neurodivergence. Yet your comment is exclusionary and dismissive.
"We don't..." Clearly we do, because I just did.
You could have provided examples where you think it was worded wrong.
There aren't many because I spent years getting hammered by "us" for using the identity first language I preferred, so I switched to person first at the request of "people with autism" and now I'm getting to go back to what I did before my fellow autistics told me I couldn't do it, but still getting chastised if it's not 100% worded how one autistic wants it.
So, maybe instead of making false assumptions and telling writers things they already know—I'm aware I'm not sick, my autism has worked quite well for me—give specific examples where you feel the language doesn't suit you then accept that how you wish to identify yourself may not be how another person does.
And neither of you are wrong.
Of all the terrifying problems caused by Trump, RFK, Jr. is tRump’s most dangerous decision. He was also confirmed, of course, with the full knowledgable and consent of Congress. God help us!
How can anyone pick just one?
The horrible damage done by myths of what it is to be normal. And the horrible damage done by conspiracy theorists who market assumptions to a population inclined to consume assumptions rather than examine assumptions.
This is disgusting and typical of MAGA.
So is the space nazi going to be on this registry? I do believe he's self-identified as neurodivergent/on the autism spectrum.
Exactly
Thank you for making many good points. I, too, have only my personal experiences with which I can evaluate Kennedy's claims. First, my sister was born in 1961. By the time she was two (check) we could see that she was not developing normally (check). Because she developed language and did not need physical assistance, doctors at the time determined she did not have autism. Rather, they said she was "brain-damaged, not otherwise specified". This left her, and us her family, in a kind of limbo without support services (check).
It was not until 1995 when we learned of Asperger's Syndrome. Please look this up if you are unfamiliar with the term, and learn why Asperger's insights languished for fifty years. At some point, Asperger's Syndrome was folded into autism spectrum disorder. None of this changed my sister's behavior, of course, but it was reassuring to know there was a "diagnosis." And now, there ARE support systems for people like my sister, more awareness, less shaming, less shunning. The burden on our family was not because my sister was "unproductive"; it was because we were isolated by her differences and we literally feared for her survival.
Of course she was not visible in 1961, or even in 1990. Epidemic? Maybe. Maybe we literally understand neurodivergence better. Our diagnosis tools are better. Brain scans were not available until the last few decades, if they are helpful at all.
Regarding environmental causes, I do understand that there are far more chemicals surrounding us than there were since the 1950s, and I know that very few have been tested for toxicity. So it's very possible that environmental factors are causing illnesses in children. But I am aware that human beings are incredibly complex. You point out that Kennedy is untrained - and you are correct. We can't leave it up to him to improve our health.
My diagnosis, at age 40, was Asperger syndrome.
Also, about this "Regarding environmental causes, I do understand that there are far more chemicals surrounding us than there were since the 1950s..."
That's inaccurate.
There are less now than before the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, than before the EPA, than before industrial regulations. But the Trump administration is working hard to go back to using water and land as toxic waste dumps and increasing pollution of all kinds.
History points to two peaks for environmental toxins: the Industrial Revolution (roughly 1876-1900) and just before most of our federal environmental and food safety regulations were enacted (roughly peaking in the 1970s).
My research on chemicals (meaning "organic" chemicals, not occurring in nature) has mostly focussed on pesticides. From what I have learned, farm chemical use peaked around 1981 and has declined slightly over the past three decades. But only slightly, and when one toxic substance is banned, another one replaces it - which may also be bad (glyphosate is one notorious example). It's quite maddening, like a Hydra.
Now there's a lot of fuss about PFAS and also micro-plastics. It's well known that only a small percentage of these substances have been fully tested. Some of them may affect the human body in ways we don't understand, even at tiny doses. This is not to say the EPA and the Clean Acts haven't helped us make progress - they have - but I don't believe we are even close to comprehending how these substances affect us.
And you are correct, Amelia. We will now be going backwards.
Epidemic, NO! This review appropriately identifies the path of diagnosis becoming better defined over time.
Children do not "catch" autism, it is not an illness to be cured.
This writer is a retired teacher of students with special needs.
Your aggressive pushiness at commenter after commenter doesn't strength your case.
"autistic people are family destroyers and a drain on the economy." Sure fits self-proclaimed Aspy Elon Musk!
I can think of one person who is a "family destroyer and a drain on the economy" on a mass level. RFK Jr can find him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. in the big White House with pillars.
From what I've read, RFK Jr. has been a sick, malevolent individual from childhood. Tragically, he was never diagnosed and his dangerous condition went untreated. Maybe his grandiosity is his way of running from his psychosis. Whatever the case, he is a madman who is clearly unfit to wield the power he's been given. He has done and will continue to do great harm left unchecked. This is so very wrong and It's beyond belief that we do not have the power to remove this destructive, severely mentally ill individual from running one of the worlds most preeminent health institutions.
Just listen to his family, but what would they know?
Social Security has records of who has been determined to be disabled. Is that the real motivation behind the regime’s/doge’s push for records?
Back in the olden days - circa 1969 - I had a friend who had a younger brother who behaved oddly. At least that's how we described it. While Mark and I would be watching reruns of old Three Stooges or Superman shows, his brother would sit on the couch rocking and humming a monotonous "tune". He'd always done it, as far as Mark was concerned, so it was no big deal. Mark and his family moved away a few years later and I never heard from him again. I'd bet just about anything that his younger brother would have been diagnosed as autistic had anyone, beyond a few doctors beginning to identify the symptoms, looked at him. We didn't know what to look for in those days, so it went undiagnosed and - consequently - massively under reported. I sometimes wonder if I might be on the spectrum too. Mention a date, and with just a moments delay, I can usually tell you the day of the week, or the other way around. I can also look at a small collection of items (for example, the number of pills left in my blood pressure medication) and give a reasonably accurate number. Same with time, I don't usually have to look at a timepiece to tell you the time within 15 minutes of the actual time. I dunno.
Sadly I believe that BWK (Brain Worm Kennedy) will go after others with disabilities like Cerebral Palsy, Spina bifida & others listed here👇
https://www.medicinenet.com/moderate_to_severe_disabilities/article.htm
I honestly couldn't finish this. I had ignorance overload about halfway through.
RFK, Jr. is just getting warmed up. I look for mandatory consumption of raw milk by school children and a list of physicians who ever worked on vaccines. Dr. Fauci may spend his last years as a prisoner in some federal gulag. RFK will also require mandatory exposure to the measles virus so that children will develop 'natural' immunity to this disease. If some kids die, well, that's natural selection!
It's pretty clear that the white supremacists in MAGA are also eugenicists.
Drumpf said, "They're poisoning our blood!" and he wasn't being rhetorical!
There will ALWAYS be someone next….. step right up y’all
Yes, already some in the administration has started asking for lists of Jewish employees in some offices...