The Autism Epidemic is Real

By highlighting this epidemic, RFK, Jr. might have birthed the Make America Healthy Again movement - which could be the most significant crusade of our times.

A recent study found as many as 30% of children on the autism spectrum engage in self-injurious behavior like head banging.

Last night, I watched a couple of long-form podcast interviews with Robert Kennedy, Jr.

This morning, I received an email from Troy University’s Sports Information director about a man who will soon speak at a local fund-raiser.

The podcast interviews and the press release both touched on the same largely taboo subject - the challenges parents face raising a child with autism, challenges most parents cannot fully comprehend.

In listening to Mr. Kennedy, I reflected on the fact it was Kennedy’s supposition that vaccines might have caused the epidemic in autism which largely explains why and how Kennedy became such a reviled figure in establishment circles.

All Mr. Kennedy did is correctly highlight a massive change in “pubic health,” one that has had devastating effects on millions of families.

Kennedy simply asks a common-sense question that any real scientist, researcher or medical expert should ask:

Why did autism or “spectrum” disorders go from almost non-existent in Kennedy’s own childhood to, today, where “1-in-34” children are now diagnosed with some form of autism/Asperger’s Syndrome? (Kennedy said “1-in-19” male children in California are now diagnosed as somewhere on the autism spectrum.)

Kennedy further states that he personally knows no adult his age (70) who currently suffers from autism symptoms, reinforcing his point that what’s happening today didn’t happen in the past.

The “epidemic of autism” also has massive economic implications as children with an autism or Asperger’s diagnosis grow up to become adults, adults who will require varying levels of care the remainder of their lives.

Kennedy has always been an expert on children with “special needs” as his late aunt started the Special Olympics and Kennedy family members, including RFK, Jr. have been trying to improve the quality of life of these children since Kennedy was a child.

When people think of Special Olympics, they probably think of athletic competitions for children or adults with Down Syndrome.

I didn’t know this …

Kennedy grabbed my attention with his statement that it’s impossible to design activities or games for children with serious autism.

I’m not an expert on autism, but I am aware that there are variations of life-altering symptoms for children or adults, depending of where they are “on the spectrum.”

According to Kennedy, individuals with severe autism are almost beyond help.

For example, these individuals cannot use the toilet on their own, can’t focus on disparate tasks (or focus only on one subject) and many have issues that cause them to “bang” their heads or have temper events that put them (and perhaps others) at danger.

As Kennedy stated, these individuals will “never” be able to play sports, hold a job, find a life mate or care for themselves.

The strain this places on their care-givers, usually their parents, is incomprehensible to most citizens.

A feature story I wrote educated me on hardships parents face …

As an aside, I once wrote a long-form feature story for Golf magazine on a local young man who suffers from an extreme form of Tourette’s Syndrome. This young man, who became a very talented golfer, is also probably somewhere “on the spectrum,” according to his parents.

This feature story was equally heart-breaking and inspirational as I came to better understand that practically every hour of the lives of Griff’s parents revolved around dealing with their son’s numerous “special needs” and hardships.

In writing this story, I also began to think more about parents who are raising children with varying degrees of autism. The lives of parent are also changed forever when a child begins to exhibit these symptoms.

How parents manage to continue working (and provide an income for their children) and care for such special needs children is a testament to the power of unconditional love.

I plan to attend this local event …

The press release I referenced above told me a little about one man who has raised an autistic child by himself after his wife passed away.

This man, Mark Etheridge of Daphne Alabama, is a baseball and softball writer who’s written about these struggles and published a book (Petunia out of Water) “about parenting an autistic teen following the sudden death of his wife.”

At his speaking event Jan. 24 in Troy, “Etheridge will also give his testimony … as he learned to solo parent his non-verbal daughter and navigate the life lessons learned in the process.”

According to a book synopsis on Amazon, “After he lost his wife, suddenly, (Etheridge) was lost, overwhelmed, afraid. Etheridge had been coasting through life and now was alone. Well, except for his 18-year-old daughter, locked in her own world of autism, wondering where her mom was …”

Caring for an autistic child with two parents would be a challenge. One can only imagine the challenges a “solo parent” must face.

One also can’t help but wonder who will care for these children when both parents have passed away.

This is a real, largely unacknowledged, crisis that is barreling down the tracks in America right now.

I again circle back to the fact that Mr. Kennedy has been excoriated for simply highlighting the autism epidemic in America and daring to ask why this is happening.

*** (Sharing stories on one likely cause of autism is not an activity the Establishment endorses.) ***

A few mothers kept asking why is this happening?

Kennedy became interested in the question of whether childhood vaccines might be causing increases in autism because a stubborn set of mothers kept attending speaking events where Kennedy was railing against the harm of mercury in our water supplies (and fish).

These mothers believed that mercury in vaccines could have caused the autism their children were suffering.

Belatedly, Kennedy read some studies one mother dropped off in a box at his doorstep and concluded - like the mothers - this scenario was indeed very possible.

This is when RFK, Jr., long a liberal icon perceived as a warrior fighting for important “environmental” issues, became a so-called anti-vaxer.

But what transformed the rest of Kennedy’s life were his concerns over the explosion in autism cases and his empathetic understanding of how this was damaging the life prospects of millions of children .. and the lives of their care-givers, who felt nobody “who mattered” cared about what had caused these life-altering conditions.

Covid’s Great Silver Lining …

A great silver lining of Covid is that concerns or questions about the Covid “vaccines” dramatically raised awareness regarding the possibility other vaccines might be harming millions of children.

Today, far more people are aware of the explosion in autism diagnoses and better appreciate the toll this has taken on so many families.

Indeed, the Make America Healthy Again movement - which is perhaps historically significant - has highlighted myriad other “chronic diseases,” including those that have altered the lives of vast swaths of children.

Childhood obesity, juvenile diabetes and pre-diabetes are other medical conditions which meet the legitimate definition of a “healthcare crisis.”

According to Kennedy, pediatricians close to Kennedy’s age previously went their entire medical careers without diagnosing a child with “juvenile” diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Today’s generation of pediatricians see such patients every single day, said Kennedy.

Why the Establishment fears RFK, Jr. and the burgeoning ‘MAHA’ Movement …

It requires no Sherlock Holmes level of deductive reasoning to understand why “the establishment” fears Robert Kennedy, Jr. obtaining real influence in a presidential administration.

Kennedy - and now, perhaps Donald J Trump - are asking hard questions and seeking to connect dots that might show that the influence of Big Pharma, Big Agriculture and Big Food - along with the prevalence of certain “environmental toxins” - might explain the epidemic of chronic illness in America, including Autism (and, also, exploding diagnoses of Alzeimer’s Disease and dementia.)

Instead of coming up with another “pill for every ill,” authentic scientists and doctors should identify the true causes of these life-altering conditions, Mr. Kennedy argues.

Perhaps surprisingly, such “radical” or “taboo” thinking is now resonating with many more Americans.

I don’t know if Mr. Etheridge, who is caring for an autistic daughter, blames Big Pharma or other potential criminal/civil accomplices for the challenges his daughter faces.

Per my understanding of autism disorders, it’s perhaps impossible to reverse or “cure” these conditions.

However, it might be possible for advocates to lobby for real science that might make it far less likely future generations of children and parents have to endure these sad and taxing challenges.

Creating greater awareness of the autism crisis - and seeking better answers as to what might have caused it - is not an issue that should result in the vilification of a public figure.

Any reforms that might result in less suffering and hardship in the future should be viewed as a noble crusade - and people who do this should be supported by all compassionate citizens.

***

(Anyone who perhaps received a Christmas bonus might consider donating to Children’s Health Defense, the non-profit started by Mr. Kennedy to fight the epidemic of chronic illness in children).

One-time Ko-Fi donations greatly appreciated!