Thursday, May 03, 2018

Autism Rates Jump in NJ


Now, an increasing number of families in New Jersey and the United States are navigating a complex system as a new report finds one-in-59 children have autism, showing the prevalence of autism is growing faster than experts have predicted.

“(Rates) are significantly higher, showing us that it’s picking up and hasn’t leveled off like some experts had predicted,” said Walter Zahorodny, Rutgers University lead researcher. “And to me, the biggest, most unknown question we’re left with is, what are the factors producing this escalation in autism?”
The new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report  showed rates of autism were up overall in the 11 states that participated in the surveillance, and New Jersey’s rate—one in 34 children—was the highest in the nation.
Zahorodny and other researchers collected and analyzed 2014 data from selected regions across the country as part of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, which started mapping data in 2000.
New Jersey’s data came from Ocean, Essex, Hudson and Union counties, and rates reflect estimations for most of the state, researchers said.

 In 2000, only about one in 100 New Jersey 8-year-olds had autism, according to the CDC. Zahorodny said the upward trend could point to the fact that the medical community has gotten better over the years at recognizing symptoms and diagnosing the developmental disorder.

Entire article at
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/autism-rates-jump-in-n-j-u-s-new-report/article_186c7e4e-341c-5ea3-ad09-57fb72bfd13e.html

 

No comments: