Autism rates hit 'epidemic increase' in N.J.

The rate of autism in New Jersey has doubled in six years to one in 49 children — and one in 29 boys — an “epidemic increase” in a disorder that has confounded researchers for decades. Two percent of children in the state are now identified with autism by their eighth birthday.

For more information

* The report on autism prevalence can be found at the website of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cdc.gov\autism.

* Information on the signs and symptoms of autism, as well as developmental milestones, can be found at cdc.gov\ActEarly.

* Autism New Jersey provides support for New Jersey families as they navigate the system from diagnosis through adulthood. Help line: 800-4AUTISM. Website: autismnj.org

* Autism Speaks, a national advocacy group, has a developmental checklist and videos illustrating various behaviors in children with and without autism. AutismSpeaks.org

“The change was overwhelming in magnitude,” said Walter Zahorodny, the principal researcher in New Jersey for the federal study released Thursday. “Now it’s beyond an emergency.” Nationally, one in 88 children now has autism, a jump of 78 percent between 2002 and 2008, the new study found.

While at least part of the increase is attributed to enhanced awareness and better detection, the root causes of the escalation remain as mysterious as the disorder itself. Few in New Jersey are impervious to its effects, from the public expense of educating so many children to the private struggles of families whose children may never become fully independent adults.

New Jersey’s rate, as in the past, is among the highest in the nation. It is now second only to Utah’s, based on the 2008 data for 14 states reported Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Zahorodny said children here do not face a greater risk of developing the disorder. Rather, he said, health professionals and educators “are more attuned than elsewhere to the signs of autism.” It is the increasing rate of diagnosis in New Jersey and across the nation that has advocates concerned.

Autism New Jersey, a statewide advocacy organization, termed the rise “extremely alarming.” More resources are needed to train teachers and other professionals who work with people with autism, from diagnosis through adulthood, said Linda Meyer, its executive director. A Bergen County private school for children with autism, the Reed Academy in Oakland, enrolls 31 students but has a waiting list of more than 300, said its executive director, H. Todd Eachus.

One mother said she was beyond worrying about the causes of autism now that her daughter is 16. “When my daughter was diagnosed, it was one in 150 nationally. Now it’s one in 88,” said Barbara Strate, who manages an Internet community for families affected by autism that has 2,000 members.

Her greatest concern: “What happens to those one in 88 nationally when they become adults? What will happen to my daughter in five years when that yellow school bus no longer stops at our house?” Autism is a complex disorder that affects the brain’s development early in life, and is believed to have genetic and environmental causes. It interferes with a person’s ability to communicate, learn and form relationships. Behavior is often focused and repetitive.

The symptoms vary in combination and intensity. While some people with autism have normal or higher-than-normal intelligence and are seen as quirky and socially inept, others are unable to speak, sometimes bite, hit and scratch themselves, and require constant supervision. Clinicians refer to an “autism spectrum.”

Eighty percent of the children with autism in the New Jersey study were identified as having the most severe form of the disorder, said Zahorodny, who is an assistant professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. They weren’t “borderline” cases. Boys were more than five times as likely to be diagnosed with autism as girls, both in New Jersey and in the rest of the country. Differences among racial and ethnic groups were not significant in the state, he said.

“People want answers to what’s causing autism and why we’re seeing such an increase in autism diagnoses,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC director, said in a telephone news conference from Atlanta. “So do we.” There was some good news in the study: The age at diagnosis has dropped to 4 years nationally, and 3 years and 2 months in New Jersey. Early intervention holds the most hope of enabling children to reach their fullest potential. Researchers say the goal is to lower the age of diagnosis to 18 months.

“It’s critical to ask quickly” if parents have a concern about their child’s development, said Dr. Colleen Boyle, director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Don’t wait.” Frieden cautioned that the rise in rates “may be entirely the result of better detection.” But others said that could explain only part of it.

“We know that the increase is partially due to increased awareness,” said Susanne Buchanan, Autism New Jersey’s clinical director. “Probably some is due to increased parental age. There’s some increased risk due to premature births.” But that accounts for only half of it, she said.

The study was based on a survey of educational and medical records for the more than 7,000 children who turned 8 in Union County in 2008. Previous studies, in 2000, 2002 and 2006 in New Jersey, included children who turned 8 in four counties. Zahorodny said he was confident the 2008 data represented a “true rate.” New Jersey had an average of eight to 10 records for each child, compared with three or four in other states, the study said. That may indicate that children here are evaluated more thoroughly and are more likely to be identified with an autism disorder.

“Better detection, particularly among children who may not have come to attention in the past, including girls and minorities,” may have contributed to the higher rates here, said state Health Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd. The state’s high rate does not reflect a migration of families from other states to take advantage of the services provided here, Zahorodny said. More than 80 percent of the children identified with autism were born in New Jersey, a higher rate of in-state births than other states in the study.

The tracking studies are useful to policymakers as they allocate state and federal resources to autism diagnosis and treatment. A full report of 2006 New Jersey data is expected to be published shortly. Researchers are currently analyzing 2010 data and beginning to collect 2012 data.

No, you’re not dealing with the real issues. you’re running away from them with ineffective hocus-pocus, as usual. And it isn’t you that pays the price of that, but your child.

Thank you for your insight. My son is missing a specific chunk of his 17th chromosome. I can show you a picture from a FISH test if you'd like. He is almost 7 but is the size of a 3 year old. He has one functional kidney. He didn't vocalize until 5.5 and to this day has very limited vocabulary. He self injures himself (self punching, nail pulling, etc.) He has webbed toes. He has an inverted circadian cycle due to missing proteins that control melatonin secretion. He cannot dress himself and is not potty trained. he has ground his teeth down to nubs and will require crowns on baby teeth. He didn't walk until 27 months. He is intellectually disabled. He will not be able to care for himself, ever. Do you want me to go on, asshole? I'm on the board of a research foundation that aims to raise awareness and raise money for actual scientists to study the genetic pathways of his syndrome. I've dedicated a lot of my income and time to my son and others like him. You are an ignorant fool.

not sure if it is the sounds, the lighting, the smells, or what.

I believe it's all of the above, our boy covers his ears when we are under the fluorescent tube lights.. I think he/they are sensitive to the humm of the Ballasts..

It might also be the ultraviolet light that fluorescent light throw off, that is nearly unnoticed to most people, then there is the humming of the freezers, and Refrigerator units.. Our little guy hates to go down the Refrigerator isle..

I think this has some merit, because he has no such reaction in department stores, although they have their own drawbacks, crowds, narrow isles, and noise.. etc.. Ha! I have an example that you might try.. One day a couple of years ago, on a very unusually cold day, I bought him a cheap pair of earmuffs and he wore them in the store, and didn't react as he usually did..

That day, I also gave him my lightly tinted sunglasses and that seemed to work as well.. I can't tell which was better, because he wore both, but you might give it a try..

Thank you Carlo for the tips. I will try the ear muffs and sunglasses, if I can get him to keep them on. It's hard just to keep clothes on him.

The new thing he likes is to sit under a folding table with a blanket over it, draped completely to the floor. I think it helps him block out all the distractions. He seems more at peace under the table than at almost any other time.

I know how you feel.. I also know why others are making their assumptions with all of the fraud that the welfare state has encouraged, BUT, we know what we go through everyday..

This is a National Health Alert, and when it in your own home, it’s a family tragedy.. We never got any check, and never tried, because we didn’t need it, but it has cost us in excess of $50,000 a year for the past 11 years..

We have had our boy, my grandson, to every therapeutic advancement in ever corner of the globe, literally, and have had at least 2 professional teachers, morning and afternoon, in our own in home classroom 5 days a week, from age 3 until he was 9.. We finally found a group Autism program that he seems to respond to..

With all of that, my daughter, and son-in-law are getting a divorce because of the lasting strain that all of this has caused.. :(

Let these folks believe what they want, or need to believe.. We know the facts, and it isn’t in our imagination, it’s a living nightmare, but still a blessing in disguise.. %@%@^^..

draped completely to the floor. I think it helps him block out all the distractions.

As different as they are individually, they are all the same in some of the symptoms.. Andy, my grandson is now 12, and has done that since he was 2.. It's one of the games we play, that all of the grandkids play together with me.. We build tents all over the living room, covering the entire room, with tipped over chairs, blankets (especially bought for this purpose) to create tunnels and small rooms.. etc.. It takes up hours, and he just loves it, and all of the other kids do to..

Your assumption that your son is so unique in his disabilities fits well with your general dismissive attitude to all things that you don’t understand.

Many that have been even more limited than he have been healed; would you deny him that? Of course that would require putting down your own defense mechanisms long enough to receive information.

The link that I provided is to a book that is guaranteed to change your life and your son’s if you just put down your guard long enough to read it. It has done so for thousands that were equally burdened.

you are out of your mind, like I said.

Do you have the balls to say this nonsense to people to their face? To a parent of a Down’s kid? Tay-Sachs? Oh wait, you cure cancer through magic, so I guess you do.

Never write at me again and I promise to do you the same favor.

My son takes no medication at all. None. Zero. There is no such thing as medication to replace missing genetic material.

If I felt like it, I’d search and find where you claimed you have seen a human being regenerate an arm (or eye, I forget.)

So why I continue to discuss chromosomal anomalies with you is beyond me.

Your willingness to fabricate lies to bolster your free-fall position is what I’d expect from you based on the flakeyness of your past performances.

BTW, I said nothing about drugs, or your son, but nice try on that too.

Stop trying to spread your self-induced pain.

Yup, my nonsense has kept my family among the very healthiest. No doctors, no drugs, no illness.

The Lord is still on the throne, and remains the only recourse.

Not scientific at all, but something that came into my mind... What if the increase in these new issues is the result of babies and children being separated from their mothers while riding in cars? They have to ride in a back seat facing away from their parents, don’t they? (I’m not a parent, so this is just what I’ve heard.) Not having that feeling of security, especially on long road trips, might lead to social dysfunction and emotional problems similar to separation anxiety. Probably crazy, but a thought. Seems that ADD, ADHD, Autism became more prevalent as laws to “protect” kids became more intrusive.

>> “Seems that ADD, ADHD, Autism became more prevalent as laws to “protect” kids became more intrusive.” <<

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Could easily be a part; it dehumanizes the infant through reduced socialization.

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