Man with autism says RFK Jr.'s comments don't reflect his reality

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing backlash after making controversial comments regarding children with autism during a press conference Wednesday. 

"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," Kennedy stated. 

Will Palmucci says Kennedy's comments don't reflect his reality. "I like to perform, and I like talking to people," he said. The 21-year-old was diagnosed with autism as a child. Since then, he has written poems and short stories, learned to play guitar, and was recently accepted into Wesleyan University to study film. 

"What people tend to forget is that autism is like a spectrum," he said. "Just because you have autism doesn't necessarily indicate that you're incapable of doing anything." 

Palmucci's mother recalled being told her son might never speak. "Which is kind of funny in retrospect because people say I talk too much sometimes," Will said. 

"Greatest blessing of my entire life"

Andrea Natale, whose son Julian also lives with autism, echoed the sentiment. "His rhetoric on autism is nothing new, but how he personalized it in his message yesterday was stunning," she said. "My son Julian couldn't be further from a tragedy. In fact, he is the greatest blessing of my entire life." 

During Kennedy's press conference, he announced a new plan to explore the role of environmental toxins in the rise of autism diagnoses. 

"This is a preventable disease," Kennedy said. "We know it's in environmental exposure." 

The Palmuccis say that Kennedy's words come from inexperience with autism and overshadow the potential of people living with it, many of whom, like Will and Julian, continue to defy expectations.