This State Has a Much Higher Autism Rate Compared to Others, According to CDC

New Jersey has seen an increased rate of autism in preschool-age children over the past four years compared to children in other states, according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday.

The percentage of four-year-olds in New Jersey with autism spectrum disorder increased by 40 percent between 2010 and 2014, the report said. The study concluded that New Jersey had the highest percentage of children with the developmental disability, which causes significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.

The Early Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, which has analyzed rates of autism diagnoses for 19 years, partnered with researchers at Rutgers University to conduct a seven-state analysis of the rates of autism spectrum disorders in children across Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin.

The percentage of 4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorders in New Jersey increased dramatically between 2010 and 2014. 19.7 per 1,000 children in 2010 had a form of the disability compared to 28.4 per 1,000 in 2014, the study said.

New Jersey saw the highest prevalence of African American and Hispanic children with the disorder. In a pool of 4-year-old children, 29.4 per 1,000 white children were on the autism spectrum in New Jersey in 2014, compared to 33.1 per 1,000 African American children and 28.2 per 1,000 Hispanic children, the study concluded. New Jersey boys were also more likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders than girls. (Read more from “This State Has a Much Higher Autism Rate Compared to Others, According to CDC” HERE)

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