RFK Jr. says autism 'destroys' families. Here's what those families want you to know

Eileen Lamb, from left, who was diagnosed with autism as an adult, watches over her children, Charlie and Jude, right, who also have autism, and daughter Billie in Austin, Texas. AP/May 12, 2025

WASHINGTON — Emery Eversoll and her mother shared a good laugh when Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that some autistic children will never write poems.

The 16-year-old’s bedroom is full of notebooks featuring her verses. Sometimes, she quietly recites poetry to get through an outburst of anger. Her mother began suspecting she may have autism, in part, because she had memorized every word from a favorite book by age 2.

Still, this Kansas family is optimistic about Kennedy’s plans to launch a broad-based study of what causes autism , the complex developmental di