“This is where we should begin. All right. I’m not an authority. I’m not a medical professional. For 25 years, I have been an advocate for the autistic community,
A group that I hold in the highest regard, and I am simply someone’s mother. Even though I’m not an expert, I do know that autism is not a sickness.
It is a developmental condition, that is. And if you are the Secretary of Health and Human Services, it is crucial that you get it right.”
“So it really set me off right away. She referred to RFK Jr.’s untrue assertions of things autistic children would “never” accomplish when she added, “And then came the list of nevers.”
The developmental doctor “rolled out a laundry list of ‘nevers’ that RJ would never do, never be, never have, never achieve,”
Peete remembered, adding that they “call it the ‘never’ day.” She had previously spoken about this when RJ was diagnosed in 2000.
