Medical experts say that the rise in autism diagnosis is likely due to improved screenings and access to resources, but on Wednesday, RFK Jr. hazarded another guess: The secretary, who holds no medical credentials, chalked the rise in diagnosis up to “environmental toxins.”

The Health and Human Services secretary's antiquated remarks about autism are setting the movement for autism acceptance back decades.

Getting a diagnosis of autism or special needs for your child will break your world. It will break your expectations. It will drive you into the ground. You will not sleep. You will not eat. You will be frozen. Then you look at your child, and you know you have a job to do: Love them.