many autistic children were "fully functional" and "regressed … into autism when they were 2 years old. 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."

PeakMetrics research summary

Based on related reporting.

Research from related reporting quotes Kennedy’s April 2025 remarks, including the claims about regression and autistic children’s future abilities. A research paper argues that the remarks erase autistic people’s contributions and notes that, by Kennedy’s own figures, 75% may hold jobs, toilet independently, and be “fully functional.”[S1][S3]