RFK Jr.’s HHS Appointment: A Threat to Autism and Mental Health Advocacy

I hate to delve into politics, but I feel there is no way to have a mental health blog without touching on it under the current climate. This past week Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as the HHS Secretary. There is a lot of fear and concern about his appointment and much of it is justified. I'm going to talk a little bit about it with what we know so far.

Concerns Over His Anti-Vaccine Stance and Autism Misinformation

He has a long history of being anti-vaccine and proclaiming the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism. I have many problems with this whole issue on a few levels. For one, as someone who just found out he was autistic, its basically saying they would rather someone be dead or suffer from a serious illness like measles or polio than possibly be like me. I realize I have some issues, but come on. That's just ghoulish and evil.

He also is going to even further embolden the fake wellness gurus and pseudoscientists and snake oil salesmen out there pitching mistletoe therapy and coffee enemas as if this stuff has any place in health care. I mean, I've tried and some some holistic care myself and I feel it has its place along side conventional treatment. But saying you're just going to good vibes the disease out of yourself is laughable and dangerous. I highly suggest checking out Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix if you want to see how this played out in the real world.

Potential Policy Threats to Disability and Mental Health Services

HHS oversees programs like Medicaid and Disability. My day job I write disability documents for claimants' appeals. I see a lot of messed up medical things come through, and that has a hard enough time getting approved. With RFK, this is going to be nearly impossible if he doesn't gut the whole program along with Medicaid, all of which he has talked about doing and causing harm to millions of people who rely on those services for their mental health care.

Impact on Psychiatric Treatment and Access to Medication

This is the scary one. He has openly shown disdain toward pharmaceutical companies and any kind of psychiatric medications. In an interview earlier last year, which has been making the rounds, he called people with depression, ADHD and other illness "drug addicts". Because we take things like SSRIs, mood stabilizers and Adderall. He's talked about wanting to take people off these medications and put them to work in camps growing organic gardens. Mind you the problem of him calling people addicts when he spent over a decade pumping heroin into his veins. He's also clearly on steroids as he's in his 70s and is all ripped. No one that age can look like that naturally, I don't care how much protein you're on.

Now, I'm not a major historical expert, but anytime you start rounding people up to put in camps, it never ever goes well for the people being rounded up. Not to mention, how productive are we going to be off our meds? Not to mention the amount of people in the country suffering from not having their medications. Even without the camps, if he makes access to psychiatric medication more difficult, you'll see a big jump in the suicide rate. Not to mention, half the country owns guns so you'll see gun violence skyrocket. I  never thought I would be on the side of big pharma, but likely, they won't sit by and see billions of dollars worth of their product suddenly become unavailable. Especially these meds have been on the market for literal decades. Its scary to think about but I feel we need to talk about it. Honestly, RFK Jr. scares me more than Elon Musk.

Public Perception and Stigma Reinforcement

I had typed out a whole paragraph on this, then wordpress deleted it when I hit backspace too hard. So I'll just say here in 2025, people often say they are mental health advocates, until someone shows scary symptoms other than depression or anxiety. They have an angry outburst, mood swings, psychosis, or any of a number of other symptoms, and suddenly you're toxic and dangerous and need to be ostracized. I'm sure all of us have experienced this on some level, so I won't spend too much time with it. Just to say, he's likely to embolden people to treat us even worse. I'm still baffled anyone can take him even remotely seriously. I'm not trying to scare anyone or be hopeless. Hope is all we have and we need to keep up the good fight.

Strengthening the Neurodiversity and Mental Health Advocacy Movements

With RFK Jr. in charge of public health, the people are already organizing to stand up and fight for disability and autism advocacy. This could lead to a rise in private donations and private funding of care and research needed to further the cause and help those in need.

That's why its so important not to give up. They WANT us to give up, throw up our hands and surrender. Don't. Don't comply in advance, don't give them an inch. Every single one of you is important, you all matter. Hold your ground and find ways, even through your local community you can contribute even a little. Everything helps and every contribution is enough.

Greater Public Awareness of Misinformation

There is a good chance some lawmakers have family or themselves are on these medications or have autistic services. If RFK Jr. tries to dismantle or defund these programs and services for mental health and autism, some lawmakers, at least on state levels are likely to mobilize to maintain care for those who need it. Once again on a more pragmatic level, a LOT of politicians are in the pocket of big pharma. I doubt they will sit by and just let all psych meds be banned.

There is likely to also be a rise in community level mutual aid and fundraising. I already see it a lot online, but hopefully we'll see more and with bigger donors contributing.

Empowering Individuals to Advocate for Themselves and Others

We are our own biggest advocates. For years I said nothing about my illness and just sat by while people made fun of those with bipolar or mental illness and just stayed quiet. Now I use my voice to speak up and try to change some of these harmful narratives. We each have a voice and no voice is too small. Don't be afraid to use it, and never let them silence you. Every last one of us is stronger than we think, and there are more of us than there are of them. We have hope, and hope is a seed that can grow into a movement. I know I'm talking like some revolutionary, but I want to try to end this on a positive note and not be all doom and gloom. There is enough of that going around right now. Find those things that bring you joy and cling to them to protect your mental health, fight when you can with what you can and stay with us. Like I said, you all matter.