Autism might have a genetic link
Filed under: Health and Safety, Infertility, Pregnancy and Birth, Newborn, Infant / First year, Toddler, Preschooler, Pre-teen, Teenager, Birth complications
When I first read the Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, it was my first experience with putting myself in the shoes of someone with autism. Since then I've had my own child, and I've read the blogs of families with a child, sometimes two, dealing with autism or Asperger's -- a related syndrome. My awareness of studies on autism has increased as a result. The personal accounts I've read online are sometimes heartbreaking, but more often than not they are heartwarming. Still, it's not something anyone would wish for their children. Some are referring to the increase in autism rates as an epidemic. There has been a lot of debate in the scientific and medical fields as to whether autism is developed due to environmental factors, or if it is a hereditary/genetic issue. Last week, we reported on a study that linked toddler's TV habits with autism. Since then the BBC News website has published two reports on studies that seem to side with the "autism is genetic" school of thought.
The first study, conducted by the University of California, suggests that children of couples who have experienced infertility may be four times more likely to have autism. According to BBC News, in a separate study researchers from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development found "A gene mutation which affects brain development increases the risk of autism".
Both studies are groundbreaking and will be subject to further research before anyone can say for certain what causes autism and what the risk factors may be. The important thing here is that we seem to be getting closer to a cause and hopefully a treatment.
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