Autism in NJ: Is it the environment or the education? (2)
Back in February when the CDC announced its statistics for the prevalence rate for autism being 1 in 94 in New Jersey, I immediately thought that people would make connections between the rate being the highest in the nation and environmental pollution in Jersey.
So, I wrote Autism Is An Epidemic, New Jersey Is Toxic, and Other Urban Myths.
And, more recently, Autism in NJ: Is it the environment or the education?.
I am noting these earlier posts upon reading Autism in Room 5 by David Kirby today in the Huffington Post. Kirby writes:
“(This is, after all, Northern New Jersey, the brunt of every poisonous pollution joke you can think of).”
I am writing from my office in Jersey City, which is just across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan in northern New Jersey. I am not a native of New Jersey, nor is my son who has autism (Charlie was born in Missouri). We are fortunate here in New Jersey to have a number of schools and autism professionals, especially in the educational field; the school presentation on autism that I attended on Tuesday night was given by a leading expert in autism education and especially about the education of older children. I am well aware of the jokes that Kirby mentions—-what surprise, one might say, that there is a fine book called Body Toxic about the “Garden State”?. But before people jump in and start talking about a “Northvale cluster” of autistic children, it should be noted that, as reported in the June 19th Bergen Record, of the 14 children of the teachers who taught at the school in Northvale, three have autism and the rest have been diagnosed with learning disabilities. Kirby gives the impression that most of the children have autism:
Dr. Lawrence Rosen, a pediatrician from nearby Old Tappan, NJ, treats over 300 kids with ASD, including at least 20 who attend St. Anthony’s, or are children of teachers there. “The direct information I have from one parent and one teacher,” he told me, “is that, out of 12 children born to women who taught in Room 5 at the school, nine have autism or severe learning disabilities, and all of them are boys. The three non-affected children are girls.”
In other words, nine out of nine boys born to women who taught in Room 5 now have severe developmental disabilities.
But not necessarily autism.
Further, it is interesting that the population of parents in question are teachers, and teachers at a special education school, Northern Valley Regional High School District—-teachers who are much more educated and aware about learning disabilities and autism, and who are in a position to seek out others (other special education teachers, speech therapists, OTs) who may notice symptoms that a less-well-trained person might not notice.
There are five autistic children within a block of our house in New Jersey. Something in the water? —- I cannot be sure, of course; Charlie, again, was born in St. Louis, Missouri (and I in Oakland, California; while my husband Jim is very glad to refer himself as a “New Jersey native,” he was born in Connecticut). Families with autistic children move into our town because of the educational possibilities for their children: There is autism in many classrooms in New Jersey, indeed.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Environment, Epidemic, Health, New Jersey
8 opinions for Autism in NJ: Is it the environment or the education? (2)
Irene
Jun 21, 2007 at 11:49 am
Hi! I’ve been reading your blog for several weeks and find it very interesting. I, too, (of course) have no idea whether the environment causes or plays a role in the development of autism. I strongly agree that any statistics of autistic persons in NJ needs to take into account the migration to the northeast of families seeking better services and education. After all my family is making the cross-country move for the same reasons next month. I do have a question. Does it really matter that not all of the children have received an autism diagnosis? If there WERE to be an environmental factor and a body is affected does it really matter whether the person meets the criteria from column I, II and III?
VAB
Jun 21, 2007 at 1:37 pm
There were three kids with autism and a couple more with significant learning disabilities on our block in Brooklyn. In fact, I think there were only two NT kids on that block. But, as Irene mentions, all of them, except the family with the two NT kids, had moved to the block after the kids were born.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jun 21, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I think there needs to be some clarification about what the diagnoses of all the children are, at least in the context of Kirby writing about “autism in Room 5″ and in his claims that there is an “autism epidemic.” He seems to be moving towards writing about the effects of environmental factors on public health more generally. As his writing has had something of an impact on discussions about autism causation, I would hope he might be more specific in his terminology.
If I may ask, where in New Jersey (if in New Jersey)—north or south—are you moving? Best wishes with the move, too!
livsparents
Jun 21, 2007 at 6:17 pm
I can some up why we have ’so many autistics’ in NJ…BRICK. That initial ‘cluster’ ‘discovered’ in the 1990’s cased the state to mobilize and get their diagnostics and programs up to where they should be.
As I’ve said before, NJ’s numbers will be how the countries numbers will soon follow. I just love the toxic waste dump rep we get. Northvale is a somewhat quiet little community similar to many in downstate/upstate NY. It’s not nestled between the refinery towers on the NJ Turnpike…
Teaching Strategy #11: Training and the Problem With the Basket Hold
Jun 22, 2007 at 12:45 am
[…] may have (according to some) plenty of pollution here in New Jersey; as of Thursday evening, we also have a package of five autism bills on […]
Imus, Northvale, and Some Numbers
Oct 17, 2007 at 5:20 am
[…] to muscular degeneration.” This finding immediately led to proclamations that there was an “autism cluster” in Northvale, which is in highly populated Bergen County and just over the border from New […]
Don’t Go Back to Northvale?
Jan 22, 2008 at 12:20 pm
[…] to muscular degeneration.” This finding immediately led to proclamations that there was an “autism cluster” in Northvale, which is in highly populated Bergen County and just over the border from New […]
The NJ Institute For Traiing in Psychoanalysis, Inc.
Feb 3, 2008 at 8:50 am
We are having a conference on Sunday March 2, 2008 at the Glenpoint Marriott hotel in Teaneck, NJ entitled: The Austisic Child: Myths, Meanings, Mental Life and Methods of Treatment with guest speakers:
Anni Bergman, Ph.D., William Singletarty, M.D. and Burton N. Seitler please feel free to e-mail us to register for this confernce that is not to be missed.
Cynthia Sabella
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: