New Jersey Autism Prevalence Rises to 1 in 32 in New CDC Report
March 26, 2020
BREAKING NEWS
12/2/2021: Today, the CDC released its new prevalence rates report showing autism rates in the US rose to 1 in 44 nationwide. The increase, experts note, is likely due to improvements in identification, diagnosis and referrals to services. Read more>>
New Jersey’s rates remain one of the highest at 1 in 35.
Check back soon for our report and analysis of the latest results.
New Jersey again has highest rate; national rate up to 1 in 54
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report today showing the rate of children identified with an autism spectrum disorder rose to 1 in 54 nationally. This statistic is based on the CDC’s evaluation of health and educational records of 8-year-old children in 2016 in 11 states, including New Jersey.
New Jersey again has the highest rate of those states evaluated, with 1 in 32 (3.1% of children). This percentage is higher than the average percentage identified with ASD (1.85%) in all communities in the United States where CDC tracked ASD in 2016. The New Jersey rate continues to trend higher.
The previous rates from the 2018 report were 1 in 34 (2.9%) in NJ and 1 in 59 (1.7%) in the US.
The New Jersey Autism Study (NJAS), led by Dr. Walter Zahorodny, an Associate Professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, helps to increase understanding of the scope of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children, describe the characteristics of ASD in those children, and identify differences between groups in the prevalence or detection of ASD.
“The CDC Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network and NJAS have been driving forces in advancing awareness and urgency for funding and policy changes to help more children and adults access the medical and behavioral treatment they need,” noted Autism New Jersey Executive Director Suzanne Buchanan, Psy.D., BCBA-D.
A key takeaway from the CDC’s report:
Rising numbers of children with ASD need services and support, now and as they grow into adolescence and adulthood. Autism New Jersey is here to help and advocate for the autism community in New Jersey.
For further analysis and links to the CDC report and resources: