SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Alyssa Schmidt, a mom to twin boys, is familiar with autism. Both her kids were diagnosed at age three.
“I think for us, it was kind of a moment where it just made sense. We got this diagnosis and we had all of these separate areas that we noticed were not typical, they weren’t bad, they just weren’t typical,” said Alyssa Schmidt, a mom to twin boys.
But the diagnosis did not destroy her family. She says it enriched her family and made it better.
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“So, knowing that diagnosis, we were able to be more creative in how we help them through those things, and they have made such huge progress,” said Schmidt.
RFK Jr. has promised to find a cause for autism by September, but Schmidt doesn’t see that happening and she’s okay with that.
“It has always existed. Many inventors, musicians, artists of note from the last several hundred years, we now look back on and see autistic traits and characteristics. I don’t think there’s a cause for it, and I certainly don’t think there’s, anything’s ramping up, and that’s what’s causing us identifying more of it now. I think this is just the human brain, we’re very complex people,” said Schmidt.
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And in response to the health secretary’s comments, Schmidt has this to say:
“Our kids are not suffering. They have never suffered. I think that autism is just a different way that the brain works. And I think that everybody suffers on some level with all types of brains,” said Schmidt.
Dr. Eric Kurtz, the executive director for USD’s center for disabilities, said in a statement that it’s important to explore the increase in diagnosis, but helping already-diagnosed individuals reach their full potential should be the focus.
