# 1 in 46 newborn males develop autism spectrum in NJ **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 30, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223 "2012-03-30T00:55:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/21 "2012-03-30T21:12:59Z")
> [@cynyc](#): > > Anyway, after I heard this interview I immediately switched to organic milk. > > I really think it’s worth a listen. I won’t re-listen as I’m depressed enough. > > [http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2009/jul/08/the-unhealthy-truth/](http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2009/jul/08/the-unhealthy-truth/) [ > [@](#): > > The $30,000 Ms. O’Brien made from the products last year is incidental, she said. Working largely from a laptop on her dining room table, she has looked deep into the perplexing world of childhood food allergies and seen a conspiracy that threatens the health of America’s children. And, she profoundly believes, it is up to her and parents everywhere to stop it. > > Her theory — that the food supply is being manipulated with additives, genetic modification, hormones and herbicides, causing increases in allergies, autism and other disorders in children — is not supported by leading researchers or the largest allergy advocacy groups. ]([http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/09alle.html?pagewanted=1&\_r=2](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/09alle.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2)) > [@](#): > > She was an honors student, earned a master’s degree in business and, like her husband, Jeff, made a living as a financial analyst. Do you have any cites from anyone who is even remotely qualified to make these claims. ---
**Author:** ![cynyc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@cynyc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cynyc)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/22 "2012-03-30T22:45:59Z")
> **[Federal study estimates 1 in 88 children has symptoms of autism](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/federal-study-estimates-1-in-88-children-has-symptoms-of-autism/2012/03/29/gIQArD5XjS_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines)** > > About 1 in 88 children in the United States has symptoms of autism and the prevalence of the condition has risen nearly 80 percent over the last decade, federal health officials reported. This place is either addictive or I am in high spectrum avoidance mode. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/23 "2012-03-30T22:49:27Z")
> [@cynyc](#): > > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/federal-study-estimates-1-in-88-children-has-symptoms-of-autism/2012/03/29/gIQArD5XjS\_story.html?wpisrc=nl\_headlines](http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/federal-study-estimates-1-in-88-children-has-symptoms-of-autism/2012/03/29/gIQArD5XjS_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines) > > This place is either addictive or I am in high spectrum avoidance mode. > [@](#): > > Such variation suggests that better identification of autism cases contributes to the higher number, but whether it explains the trend completely is a matter of huge debate. I see nothing in there that blames food or allergies nor some unnamed hormone in milk. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/24 "2012-03-30T22:56:24Z")
I like this new OP style, posting one sentence at a time. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/25 "2012-03-31T18:23:30Z")
Wouldn’t you want to shun human contact if you were in New Jersey? 😃 > [@tomndebb](#): > > Let’s leave the insulting terms for other nationalities out of the discussion. > > [/Moderating] Opps. Sorry.:o ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/26 "2012-04-01T01:52:23Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > Do you have any cites from anyone who is even remotely qualified to make these claims. Thanks for doing the work to pull the relevant quotes from the source material so they don’t just hang there uncontested. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/27 "2012-04-03T21:17:13Z")
> [@cynyc](#): > > The rate has doubled in the last few years. (Citation needed.) > > Why would parents run to a pediatrician for a very mild difference in a kid more so now than 30 years ago? > > And this isn’t from the National Enquirer it’s from the CDC. > > My position is that we are not talking higher incidence due to higher reporting. > > e.g. Incidences of ADHD went off the exponential map since we bought a cow hormone from the Japs in 1994-95. WHen queried about health risks. The PM answered “Well we’ll see how the American kids do.” This should answer you: > [@](#): > > The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 1% of children across the country have some form of autism — 20 times the prevailing figure in the 1980s. The increase has stirred fears of an epidemic and mobilized researchers to figure out what causes the brain disorder and why it appears to be affecting so many more children. > > Two decades into the boom, however, the balance of evidence suggests that it is more a surge in diagnosis than in disease. > > Factors that have nothing to do with biology can explain much of the steep increase in cases around the world: an expanded definition of autism, spreading awareness of the disorder and an improved ability to distinguish it from other conditions. > > The search for an environmental explanation for the rise has so far been fruitless. > > SOURCE: [Autism boom: an epidemic of disease or of discovery?](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/autism/la-me-autism-day-one-html,0,1218038.htmlstory) ---
**Author:** ![cynyc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@cynyc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cynyc)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/28 "2012-04-07T19:10:32Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I like this new OP style, posting one sentence at a time. I have keyboard Asperger’s. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/29 "2012-04-07T19:57:33Z")
First, unless you have access to statistics that I don’t have, the CDC report only applies to twelve randomly selected states. It isn’t a study of autism across the entire country. Second, so New Jersey has the highest rate of autism among those twelve states. Well, what else is true of New Jersey? How about the fact that it has one of the highest average yearly incomes in the U.S.? Have you considered the possibility that a large proportion of what drives a parent to get their child tested for autism-spectrum disorders is their income (or their level of education, which correlates highly with that)? Notice that white children are more likely to be considered autistic that black or Hispanic children. Perhaps this is because well off, well educated, white parents are more likely to see developmental problems in their children as something medical that can be fixed, while poorer, less well educated, black or Hispanic parents are more likely to see them as just something that they have to live with. Indeed, in general, the richer your family is, the more likely that your childhood problems of all sorts will be seen as medical problems rather than something that you’re stuck with. And, of course, in modern-day America, autism is more likely to seen as a medical problem rather than something that has to be lived with and gotten over, as it often was in other times and other countries: > **[Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network](https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/addm.html)** > > Learn more about the ADDM Network ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/30 "2012-04-07T22:29:05Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Notice that white children are more likely to be considered autistic that black or Hispanic children. Perhaps this is because well off, well educated, white parents are more likely to see developmental problems in their children as something medical that can be fixed, while poorer, less well educated, black or Hispanic parents are more likely to see them as just something that they have to live with. It might also be that white people are more likely to have neurological issues than others. Googling doesn’t turn up a cite for this, though. But if it is true, it wouldn’t blow me away. Or, to explain class differences, perhaps “autism traits” are genetic and when present in mild form, they correlate with success in specific financially rewarding fields (engineering, science, programming, etc.) When these nerdish people have children, their children inherit enough of these traits so that they could be classified as disordered rather than quirky. It has been hypothesized that schizophrenia works in this way. Yet another reason why one shouldn’t date in the workplace. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/31 "2012-04-08T04:15:32Z")
Even more concerning - almost 90% of newborn males born in NJ develop guidoism. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/32 "2012-04-08T16:43:41Z")
Here’s my theory: people on the autism spectrum are very sensitive to excessive stimulation. Therefore, they would prefer to live in the suburbs, away from the city as much as possible. There they meet and breed, creating an increasingly autistic populace. Sort of like _Idiocracy_ for social skills. Or it could be changes in diagnosis and an increased awareness of the condition, as well as changes in policies in public schools. Mine’s more interesting, though. ---
**Author:** ![Aurelia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@Aurelia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aurelia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/33 "2012-04-08T18:06:36Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > Here’s my theory: people on the autism spectrum are very sensitive to excessive stimulation. Therefore, they would prefer to live in the suburbs, away from the city as much as possible. There they meet and breed, creating an increasingly autistic populace. Sort of like _Idiocracy_ for social skills This is basically what happened in Silicon Valley. People at the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum were attracted to jobs in engineering and technology. They moved to places like Silicon Valley, where all the tech jobs were. They met other people like them and had children together. These children had a much greater chance of developing autism, which has led to a significantly higher rate of autism diagnosis in the Silicon Valley area. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/34 "2012-04-08T18:40:28Z")
Or, again, it may be just that educated, well off parents, like the ones that live in Silicon Valley, are more likely to consider the developmental problems of their children to be medical problems which can be fixed, unlike poorer, less educated parents, who are more likely to consider them to be just the normal problems of life, which you just have to endure. ---
**Author:** ![cynyc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@cynyc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cynyc)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/35 "2012-04-08T18:42:16Z")
> [@Aurelia](#): > > This is basically what happened in Silicon Valley. People at the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum were attracted to jobs in engineering and technology. They moved to places like Silicon Valley, where all the tech jobs were. They met other people like them and had children together. These children had a much greater chance of developing autism, which has led to a significantly higher rate of autism diagnosis in the Silicon Valley area. This makes sense to me. I did read somewhere that it comes from the paternal line. I also have a ‘fiend’ (line stolen from Herzog’s “My Best Fiend”) who is Big Time Aspergers. He’s an engineer for Boeing. An absolutely enraging dude unless I change my expectations A WHOLE LOT. One of his sons is, um, a tad off himself. BTW did anybody actually listen to the Robyn O’Brien podcast? ---
**Author:** ![Aurelia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@Aurelia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aurelia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/36 "2012-04-08T19:21:55Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Or, again, it may be just that educated, well off parents, like the ones that live in Silicon Valley, are more likely to consider the developmental problems of their children to be medical problems which can be fixed, unlike poorer, less educated parents, who are more likely to consider them to be just the normal problems of life, which you just have to endure. San Francisco is a city full of educated, well-off people, and right next to Silicon Valley, yet the rate of autism diagnosis is significantly higher in Silicon Valley. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/37 "2012-04-08T19:27:20Z")
Cite? Show me the statistics for the rate of autism among children in both Silicon Valley and in San Francisco and the average personal income (and also average educational level of aduts) in both Sillicon Valley and San Francisco. And, yes, I need all four (or maybe six) numbers. It would take that to convince me that the difference in the rate of diagnosis of autism isn’t just a matter of parental income (and education). ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/38 "2012-04-08T19:28:46Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Or, again, it may be just that educated, well off parents, like the ones that live in Silicon Valley, are more likely to consider the developmental problems of their children to be medical problems which can be fixed, unlike poorer, less educated parents, who are more likely to consider them to be just the normal problems of life, which you just have to endure. Educated people also have children later, which comes with a host of increased risks. ---
**Author:** ![Aurelia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@Aurelia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aurelia)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/39 "2012-04-09T00:05:00Z")
I used the [US Census Bureau](http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml) to look up income and education, and [this chart from the LA Times](http://spreadsheets.latimes.com/autism-california-elementary-schools/) for autism rate by school district. To calculate the autism rate by county, I sorted the LA Times article by county and counted all the school districts within that county. Silicon Valley is neither a city nor a county, but it comprises all of Santa Clara Valley and some of the surrounding area, so I used Santa Clara County in place of Silicon Valley. According to the [CDC](http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html), the national rate of autism is 1 in 88, or 1.13%. In my previous post, I was thinking of [this article](http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers_pr.html), which states that Santa Clara County has a significantly higher rate of autism than the surrounding counties, but does not give any statistics or references, which is why I looked up the numbers myself. Santa Clara County Average income: $109,698 Percentage of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 46.1 Percentage of children in grades K-5 with autism: 1.08 San Francisco County Average income: $100,785 Percentage of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 50.9 Percentage of children in grades K-5 with autism: 1.06 The Wired article is several years old, so I suppose San Francisco may have caught up in terms of autism diagnosis. However, I also looked up Marin County, which has one of the highest levels of income and education in California. Their autism rate is well below the national average. Marin County Average income: $124,863 Percentage of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 54.3 Percentage of children in grades K-5 with autism: 0.71 I was not trying to imply that autism is entirely genetic or restricted to those in the tech industry, but it’s not the case that autism diagnosis simply increases with parental income and education. Those variables only tell part of the story. If you read the LA Times chart, you’ll see that some of the highest rates of autism are found in some of the poorest counties in the state. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223/40 "2012-04-09T18:21:47Z")
Obesity during pregnancy may contribute to autism. [http://news.yahoo.com/obesity-pregnancy-linked-autism-145545163.html](http://news.yahoo.com/obesity-pregnancy-linked-autism-145545163.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-in-46-newborn-males-develop-autism-spectrum-in-nj/617223.md?page=3)