40 Autism Cases Diagnosed
“I think there is a cluster here. I don’t know why,” said Jacquelyn Bertrand, the developmental psychologist heading the investigation for the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
     Forty or so cases of autism have been diagnosed among Brick’s 6,000 3- to 10-year-olds. That’s more than three times the estimated national average of 1 in 500, the CDC said.
     Autism is often characterized by obsessive repetitive motions, an inability to communicate with the outside world and behavioral problems, including self-destructive behavior.
     The disorder is poorly understood but is thought to begin early in pregnancy through some combination of genetics and a toxin, virus or some other agent, said Dr. Eric London of the National Alliance for Autism Research, an adviser to the federal investigators.
     Bernard Rimland, director of the Autism Research Institute in San Diego, said autism is increasing, citing a California study that found a 400 percent increase over the last 12 years when the population rose only 19 percent. He blames pollution, food additives, vaccines and overuse of antibiotics. Others say the increase simply reflects better diagnosis.

Parents Launch Legal Fights
In Toms River, eight miles from Brick, a high incidence of childhood cancer and worries about contaminated water have spurred parents to pursue legal action. They have hired Jan Schlictmann, the lawyer portrayed in the book and the movie “A Civil Action” who brought a lawsuit blaming pollution for childhood leukemia cases in Woburn, Mass.
     In Brick, Mrs. Gallagher and her husband, Billy, a fisherman, have helped organize families in the township about 50 miles north of Atlantic City, just a few minutes from the Atlantic Ocean.
     Last week, staff members from the CDC and the government’s Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry spent a few days in Brick, asking and answering questions.
     The federal researchers told dozens of families that the few published studies on autism show little has been proved regarding its cause, its possible links to toxins or even its prevalence.
     In Brick, researchers are collecting data on surface and groundwater and industrial sites, chemical spills and waste dumping. They are also evaluating the children diagnosed with autism to confirm whether they really do have the disorder. Some preliminary conclusions could be drawn by summer.