(NewsNation) —An autism awareness advocate says when a public figure such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes comments that “tie autism to harmful myths,” it can “undermine all the progress” that has been made with awareness around the condition. 

Dani Bowman, star of “Love on the Spectrum,” told NewsNation’s Leland Vittert on Monday that the ideas voiced by Kennedy and other groups including his “Make America Healthy Again” movement are “dangerous.”   

“It reinforces the idea that we’re broken and need a cure,” she said. 

“We are not tragedies,” Bowman said, adding that autistic people have full and happy lives. 

Bowman said autistic people have made some strides with more representation in mainstream media and culture, but all that could change with rhetoric around the origins of autism. 

Autism is linked to genetics and hereditary factors, she said, adding that the idea it’s connected to food or everyday life will reverse progress.