Bitter infighting among members of a state task force on autism has led to the cascading resignations of three of its chairs, causing it to cease operations and leaving a leadership void as Minnesota confronts a rising tide of the costly and disabling disorder.
After mediation failed to resolve the internal frictions, the Minnesota House voted this year to disband the 18-member Autism Spectrum Disorder Task Force. The Senate, however, refused — leaving the panel in a state of limbo with no chair and no meetings scheduled.
Although the task force has no budget or staff, the legislators who created it three years ago considered its work essential in preparing Minnesota to help the thousands of Minnesota children and young adults with autism, many of whom will need expensive therapy, education and training to live successfully with the condition.
"We can't backslide," said Sen. David Senjem, a Rochester Republican and task force member. "We worked way too hard to get that task force created."
In an interview last week, Senjem vowed to get the task force back on track — with new members, if necessary.
"Autism is emerging as a near epidemic," he said.
The share of Americans diagnosed with autism has grown more than 30-fold since the 1990s, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Minnesota has one of the highest reported rates in the country, with an estimated 11,000 to 20,000 children over age 2 having an autism diagnosis in 2010, according to the state Department of Health.
The disorder can manifest itself in a broad spectrum of symptoms, from mild to severely disabling, and the state spends millions of dollars annually on therapy and schooling just for school-aged children.