ATLANTIC CITY--More than one thousand people are converging in Atlantic City for a two-day event to educate people about what has become a rapidly growing disorder across the country and here in New Jersey...autism.

Some 1,200 autism professionals and families affected by autism are expected to attend the 29th annual Autism New Jersey conference opened Thursday at the Atlantic City convention center.

The event has become one of the nation's largest autism symposiums for nearly three decades, bringing pertinent information about a disorder that affects 1 in 110 children nationally, "It's really a concerted effort by everybody in the autism community to get as much done as they possibly can and to bring as much to people over the next 2 days as we possibly can," said James Paone, president of Autism New Jersey.

An equally large crowd is expected for the second and last day of the conference, which offers more than 85 workshops and a keynote speech on behavioral analysis.