Yes, RFK Jr. said autistic children will never pay taxes, hold a job, play baseball or write a poem

In mid-April 2025, a rumor spread online that U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said autistic children would not go on to pay taxes, hold a job, play baseball or do other everyday things. 

For example, Gillian Branstetter, a communications strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union, claimed on Bluesky that Kennedy said autistic children would never pay taxes, hold down a job or contribute anything to society.

In the same post, which had amassed more than 5,900 likes as of this writing, she included a video of Talking Heads musician David Byrne — who has previously discussed recognizing in himself characteristics of autism — dancing freely on stage in an oversize suit.

(Bluesky/Gillian Branstetter)

Similarly, X user @Acyn quoted the health secretary as saying: "And these are kids who will never pay taxes, they'll never hold a job, they'll never play baseball, they'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted."

Versions of the quote attributed to Kennedy also appeared on X, Reddit, Facebook and Instagram. Further, Snopes readers searched our website wondering if he had made such an assertion. 

Indeed, the health secretary said those words during an April 16, 2025, news briefing about recent findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the prevalence of autism diagnoses. Therefore, we have rated this quote as being correctly attributed to Kennedy.

At the 12:16 mark of the YouTube video below, the health secretary said of autistic children:

These are kids who will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.

Investigating the reasons for the growing prevalence of autism diagnoses was one of the stated goals of President Donald Trump's administration, as Snopes reported in early January 2025. However, while Kennedy pointed to environmental causes, our reporting showed that experts have found the increase in autism diagnoses is likely the result of broader awareness and new diagnosing techniques as well as a rise in "community capacity," or society's ability to create support mechanisms for people with autism spectrum disorder. 

Further, contrary to Kennedy's assertion that children with the disorder cannot play sports, write or contribute to society, many of them do. Famous people who have shared their autism spectrum disorder diagnosis include tech billionaire Elon Musk — an adviser to Trump — who said during a monologue on Saturday Night Live that he has Asperger's syndrome, now known to be a part of the autism spectrum; Academy Award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins; climate activist Greta Thunberg; musician Sia; and scientist and academic Temple Grandin. In addition, Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he suspected that, by current standards, he would have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as a child.

Experts, including Michael Fitzgerald, a child and adolescent psychologist who specializes in autism spectrum disorder, reportedly said Albert Einstein and other historical figures such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Immanuel Kant probably had the disorder.