Editorial: Troubling Statistics in NJ as Autism Awareness Month Begins

As Autism Awareness Month begins today, new information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitively show the issue merits much more attention. The rate has more than doubled since a 2002 CDC survey.

As Kathleen O’Brien reported last week in The Star-Ledger, one in 68 children is
now diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder nationally — with boys nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism.

In New Jersey, it’s estimated that one in 48 children — and one in 28 boys — has autism.