In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread. Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio. A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
In addition to spreading lies about vaccines, he is hurting autistic people in other ways, too.
From the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network and the American Association of People with Disabilities:
In the last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made many dangerous changes to what it does and how it works. The changes HHS made have hurt public health in the US, especially for autistic people. HHS has done so many things that it is hard to keep up with everything. HHS has also spread misinformation that makes it hard to know how to keep each other safe. That’s why the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) made “HHS’ Assault on Autistic People and Public Health”.
This toolkit talks about:
- Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr
- The history of Make American Healthy Again (MAHA)
- How HHS has hurt public health, especially autistic people, in the last year
“HHS’ Assault on Autistic People and Public Health” is available in a Plain Language version and a Formal Language version. There are also detailed infographics. You can use them to find more information about specific issues.
HHS is supposed to support public health to keep all Americans healthy. Secretary Kennedy has done the opposite. It is important to understand how HHS has hurt people and stop them from hurting more. Autistic people deserve to live in a world without our government spreading lies that endanger us. All politicians need to protect their constituents, but we cannot do that until we recognize the harm Secretary Kennedy is spreading.
Plain Language Version To download the full Plain Language Version of HHS’ Assault on Autistic People and Public Health click here.
Formal Language Version To download the full Formal Language Version of HHS’ Assault on Autistic People and Public Health click here.
Timeline Infographics
1. Miscellaneous Administration Actions
2. Congressional Actions
3. Funding
4. Make America Health Again (MAHA) Commission
5. Vaccine Actions & Outbreaks
6. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
7. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Staffing
8. Autism Actions
9. Public Response
10. Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
11. Vaccine Actions, Outbreaks, & ACIP
