Friends and neighbors,
I recently recorded a video about a troubling trend that deserves more attention: the steep rise in autism diagnoses and spending. In 1960, autism affected just a handful of children out of every 10,000. Today, it's one in 36. Minnesota’s costs for autism services have also jumped from $6,500 per child in 2017 to $45,000 in 2023.
Some of this is fraud: There are 85 investigations into possible fraud in Minnesota’s autism treatment program and the FBI last winter raided two clinics accused of billing millions for services never provided. Some centers allegedly hired unqualified staff, fabricated autism diagnoses, and even paid parents to enroll their children.
I want to be clear: we want to help children on the autism spectrum. And families certainly need support as well. But we also need to ask what is behind the steep increase in diagnoses and spending, and why they have changed so drastically in such a short time.
I’m grateful that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised to take a serious look at this issue on the national level.
I hope you will take a few minutes to watch the video, share it with others, and stay engaged. The more we understand the root causes and effectiveness of what we are doing, the better we can serve families and children.
You can find the video here: https://youtu.be/90FnG4J4ntQ?si=R6DZux0xtomjo01e
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.
God Bless,