autism is real, but it's not a single disease. rather, it's a description of the process of specific genetic mutations that decrease the fitness of the individual. these should not be seen as mistakes, and are not genetic replication gone wrong, but are how evolution works, by trial and error. autistic people are nature's experiments; this is how our dna does experiments to see what works and what fails. sometimes mutations are good; that's called natural selection. sometimes they aren't and lead to genetic unfitness, and those genes don't replicate. there's thousands of bad genetic mutations that create unhelpful phenotypes and we collectively call that autism. some of the most common mutations, like down's syndrome, have names. they're all fundamentally, mechanistically, the same thing.
this is the necessary side effect of the process in which our genome uses trial and error in order to guess mutations that make us stronger. it's necessary that some must be born unfit in order to have some that are born with higher fitness. this is only upsetting in the sense that it upends the calvinist basis of american christian charitable dogooding. most cultures, historically, would think this is obvious and normal and not be bothered by it at all.
humans are unique. the unfit should be treated with dignity, but they are what they are, and they cannot be cured, nor can they be eliminated. to eliminate autism would be to end evolution. we should not desire genetic stagnation. our genome must continue to experiment, which will produce both failures and successes.
however, 95% of the kids being diagnosed with autism don't have genetic mutations and don't have anything physically wrong with them, they just have shitty parents that abuse and neglect them and are suffering from a deficit of attention and love. what they need is a hug.
this is the cure for "autism" that rfk really seeks - better parenting. more love. more hugs for abused kids.
what america has is a child abuse and child neglect epidemic brought on by lack of access to contraception and abortion and subsequent overworked two income families, not an autism epidemic.