On April 16, 2025, Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy spoke about the Centers for Disease Control’s recently released report, Prevalence and Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 4 and 8 Years — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 16 Sites, United States, 2022.”
Secretary Kennedy spoke about increases in autism rates and his plans for more research about factors contributing to autism. He did not mention if or how he would include people with lived experience with autism and their families in his efforts. We encourage you to listen to his remarks and consider how they relate to you and your family. Like all policymakers, Secretary Kennedy needs to hear from people who know what living with the condition he described—and proposes to study—is like. People with autism and their families must be at every table that is about them.
Secretary Kennedy’s HHS bio page tells more about him and offers ways to contact him. When we checked his page, the email link did not work, but you could comment on the social media links. We encourage you to contact him with your family’s perspective on his remarks and plans.
