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The annual Minnesota Autism Conference arrived this year with “uncertainty and anxiety” for those in the autism community. 

Recent moves to potentially cut Medicare and Medicaid as well as funding for services people with autism rely on have “hit especially hard," said Zephyr James of the Autism Society of Minnesota, the organization behind the conference. 

This year’s gathering comes just after a 

 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows an uptick in the prevalence of autism. The number of 8-year-olds diagnosed with autism has increased from one in 36 in 2020 to one in 31 in 2022. 

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr. announced last week 

 to undertake an effort to uncover the cause of autism by September — calling rising numbers an “epidemic.” He has long pushed the debunked idea that vaccines and autism may be linked. James rejected the idea that there is an autism epidemic. 

“This probably isn’t reflecting an increased number of people who actually are autistic,” James said. “It is reflecting improved identification and diagnosis.”

The conference offers a welcome time to connect, James said. “[There’s] a desire to come together and be around people who get it, and to talk about how we can keep taking care of each other as a community.”

To hear more the full conversation with Zephyr James, click play on the audio player.

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This year’s gathering comes just after a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows an uptick in the prevalence of autism and recent moves by the Trump administration to potentially cut funding for certain services and programs. 

Minnesota autism conference starts amid ‘uncertainty and anxiety’

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