The mischaracterization of Kennedy’s remarks came from the 33-minute mark of his 40-minute speech where he was explaining his passion for solving autism and other mental health issues. There, according to the speech’s official transcript, Kennedy said:
Because of my family’s commitment to these issues, I spent 200 hours at Wassaic Home for the Retarded when I was in high school. So, I was seeing people with intellectual disabilities all the time. I never saw anybody with autism. We, you know, we prided ourselves on Special Olympics about being able to take care of every child, no matter how. READ MORE