BY SALVATORE PIZZURO

COMMENTARY

Recent reports that New Jersey’s autism rates have risen dramatically and reached “epidemic proportions” has elicited disagreement among researchers.

Some suggest that environmental factors have caused the State’s rate of new autism cases to rise. Some have suggested that the alleged increase is a result of childhood vaccines, while others have asserted that it may be air quality or some other unknown factor.

However, there are some who suggest that the rise in autism cases is a fallacy. The new numbers, they point out, are a result of increased awareness of the disorder and a practice of combining many different disorders and “lumping” them together within the “autism spectrum”.

Regardless of whether the disorder is truly rising or not, however, it is clear that New Jersey has a high rate of children and adults with a disorder (or series of disorders) that impact on their lives and creates a condition under which they cannot live independently and require a great deal of support. Parent groups, such as Deborah Christiana Wertalik’s “Putting the Pieces Together” are working round the clock to provide stimulus activities that will help children who have the syndrome to develop the requisite skills that lead to a successful adulthood.