Prevalence in New Jersey
New Jersey's rate of autism continues its steady climb, once again leading the nation in the latest comprehensive federal study.
Autism now affects one out of every 41 children here – a 12 percent jump from 2010 to 2012, the latest year covered in the survey.
Since the development disorder seems to affect more boys than girls, that means one out of every 26 boys and one out of every 108 girls.
However, experts still don't know if New Jersey families are more likely to have an autistic child, or whether New Jersey schools and doctors are simply better at diagnosing them.
The state's leading expert suspects the other states are missing cases, and their autism rates will eventually catch up to New Jersey's.
"Wisconsin, Missouri, Colorado....they have rates that are half the rate in New Jersey. Those are obviously way under-estimated," said Walter Zahorodny, head of the New Jersey Autism Registry at Rutgers University – New Jersey Medical School in Newark.
