March 31,2016
the staffof the Ridgewood blog
Astonishing : 1 in 41 children in Jersey have autism.
Ridgewood NJ, The number of children with autism continues to rise in New Jersey, which is already the highest rate in the nation, according to a CDC report published Thursday.
The CDC report found no significant change in the autism rate nationally, but in New Jersey the percentage of school-age children diagnosed with autism increased from 2.1 percent in 2010 to 2.5 percent in 2012, or 1 in 41 children.
The CDC says that Nationally, 1.5 percent of children have autism, or 1 in 68.
Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, is a developmental disability that can affect how people communicate, behave, learn and interact with others or their environments. Signs of autism begin to become evident in early childhood.
In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report the CDC says it’s still not clear why New Jersey’s rate is so high, “but it could be related to how children are identified and connected to services in their local communities.”
