What Cause Autism?

So, the big question is how do people get autism? Some say autism is caused by a person’s genetic make-up. Still others blame the environment for the causes of autism. The big fight is to try to blame mandated immunizations for the rising number of children with autism spectrum disorder. According to Offit “immunizations have no connection with children who may have autism. According to a study published in England where only 12 children who had

“Independent of the genome screens, evidence suggests that the region on chromosome 15q11-13 contains a gene or genes relevant to Autism.” (Dr. David Pauls 2003). Basically, there are suggestions that the chromosome 15q11-13 is somehow mutated, deleted, or duplicated, causing this disorder to transpire. In addition to genetics, environmental factors can influence Autism; though they are not greatly supported ideas, they can’t be entirely ruled out. In the UK there have been reports of the measles vaccine having a part in causing this disorder. (Dr. David Pauls 2003). Newer studies have even shown that prenatal care before a woman even conceives reduces the risk extensively. “Woman who did not take a daily multivitamin in the three months before conception and during the first month of pregnancy were almost twice as likely to give birth to a child with ASD as a woman who had taken a daily multivitamin.” (The Harvard Mental Health Letter 2011). Multivitamins contain a lot of helpful vitamins to maintain a healthy pregnancy, but researchers suggest that the folic acid is the most significant influence that reduces the risk of a child born with ASD. (The Harvard Mental Health Letter

A lot of various genes appear o be involved in autism spectrum disorder. For some children, autism spectrum disorder can be combined with a genetic disorder such as Rett syndrome or fragile X syndrome. For other genetic changes may make a child more affected to autism or create environmental risk factors. Still other genes may affect the brain progress or the way that brain cells communicate, or they may determine the severity of symptoms. Some genetic problems seem to be innate, while others happen unconsciously. (Mayo clinic staff, 2014)

There is no known single cause of autism. however, it is generally accepted that autism is caused by abnormalities in the brain. Autism has been linked to genetic and environmental factors. Researchers have identified a number of genes associated with the disorder.

Autism according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is defined as “a variable developmental disorder that appears by age three and is characterized by impairment of the ability to form normal social relationships, to commutate with others, and by stereotyped behavior patterns.” Autism was believed to be a psychiatric or emotional illness, and doctors told mothers that they were the cause. They were wrong. The cause for autism is still a mystery, however, the facts remain that autism in children is on the rise. Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, “Environmental factors play a more important role in causing autism than previously assumed and, surprisingly, an even larger role than genetic.” There are theories based on that

The study displayed a higher risk for children developing autism if a family member was already affected by the disorder and ten times more likely if a sibling was affected. This study concluded that genetics and environmental factors work together to play a role in the development of autism. Genetics was estimated at 83 percent and environmental influence was estimated at 17 percent. Even though genetics still plays a larger part in the development of autism, environmental factors play a role as well (Large Study Suggests, 2012; Staff, X.S, 2013).

While there are many theories there is no single cause of autism. One theory assumes multiple factors interacting in complex ways (i.e. genes, environment and brain) can cause autism. Genetics play a role but do not explain the full picture or the recent increase in reported cases. According to Volkmar and Weisner (2009), "Identical twins have identical genes, while fraternal twins share only some genes. The implication of this finding was that there was potentially a very strong genetic contribution in autism. A number of studies have shown that this is the case. " (p. 26). There are medical conditions associated with autism which include, phenylketonuria, congenital rubella, tuberous sclerosis, and Fragile X. The strongest associations are with Fragile X, a genetic condition causing intellectual disability and tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form in many different organs, primarily in the brain, eyes, heart. There is no strong evidence that environmental etologies cause autism. Some researchers assume that environmental toxins can increase the rate of autism, but evidence proposed for environmental factors is based on a case by case report which is difficult to interpret (Volkmar & Weisner,

Even though there is no one specific genetic or environmental factor that scientists can prove directly causes Autism there are still many very likely theories about the subject. There are lots of ideas about how Autism is caused but they all stem out of two factors: Genetics and environmental conditions. All of the theories that are listed under genetics have to do with genetic mutations or anything else having to do with family history, etc. In correspondence with this, it turns out that there is a nine out of ten chance that if one twin is diagnosed with ASD then the other will be as well. Some families do not even have a family history of Autism, so it is clearly not like heart disease

Just as there is no duplicate case of autism, there is no one cause. Alternatively, there is a list of causes. Some of the most common include genetic mutation and predisposition as well as environmental factors. Some research shows that women can reduce the chance of their children being autistic by increasing folic acid intake before and following conception. Other research shows that “advanced paternal age can affect the child’s risk” of being

Autism, what is autism? What are the causes and if its nature or nurture based? I am here to shed light on Autism. According to Autismspeaks.org, “Autism is known as a complex disorder of brain development. These disorders are characterized into different degrees by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and repetitive behaviors”. Autism appears to emerge with in 2 to 3 years of age. According to klass, “Recent research has taught us more about the complexity of the genetics of autism, but the evidence also has suggested an important role for environmental exposures. It has become a very complicated picture: Genes matter, but we usually can’t tell how. Environmental exposures matter, but we usually don’t know which” (Klass 2011). This means causes of autism could be nature base or nurture base. What is nature base vs nurture base? The answer to this question is autism could be nature base because of his/her heretics and genetics, means born with autism or autism runs in the family like slow growth of motor skill in individual or abnormal size of brain. Nurture base is environmental means how life can alter the individual expressions like inability to recognize social cues or interest in people.

Not only can the cause of autism come from genes but it can come from your environmental risk factors. Many gene factors can contribute to autism like your mother/sibling having it, or the way your brain is developed. Environmental risk factors can also influence the child to have autism, like the way the infant is born or if pregnant women are near chemicals. Social and physical are the main symptoms that occur in a person with autism. The characteristics of a person with social symptoms could be repetitive behavior and OCD. Repetitive behavior shows that people who have autism seem to repeat the same things over and over again. People with autism often have OCD, they will organize their toys in a specific way. This can occur everyday at the same time and if someone misplaces something of theirs, this can cause the person aggravation or stress. The characteristics of a person with physical symptoms could be communication and their body. Communication can be difficult for people with autism because their gestures and the way they speak are usually delayed. This can evolve throughout time with the help from other people. Their body has difficulty showing how someone with autism actually feels. Most people with autism take treatments like medication and therapy to help with the disorder. A few people with autism can benefit from medication but no one medication can help people with autism. Therapy is also a way people with autism can improve in social and physical skills. Hopefully in the future there will be more answers to what causes autism, the symptoms of autism, and how we can treat and help people with

According to Shangraw (2012), there is no concrete etiology of autism because it is not diagnosed by its cause but on observed behaviors. The Autism-Society (n.d.) stated that a possibility for the cause of autism is the abnormalities in the brain structure or function. In an MRI research study by Piven et al. (1995), they found that an individual with autism spectrum disorder had a higher total brain volume and tissue compared to a person who is not on the autism spectrum disorder. Genetic problems and environmental factors can be a cause of autism spectrum disorder, according to the Mayo Clinic (2014). In genetic problems such as fragile X syndrome or Rett Syndrome, it can be associated with autism spectrum disorder. There is ongoing research regarding environmental factors and exploring ideas such as viral infections, pregnancy complications, and / or air pollutants to determine if they are active factors of autism spectrum disorder.

The exact cause of Autism has not been found, but researchers have pointed out several possible factors. The main cause of Autism pertains to a genetic mutation that the parents pass down. Genetic mutations come in many different forms such as: Fragile X Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Prader-willi Syndrome, and Landau-Kleffner Syndrome. In addition to genetic mutations, medications cause Autism too. Depakote Valproate, an anti-seizure medication, plays a major role in this disease. If

Genes and biological processes are involved in multiple ways in the development and core features of autism. Research shows that genes do play a large role in cases of autism. Researchers have discovered that many genes work together to develop autism. More research is needed to see the exact genes are to make a child have autism, though they have found specific genes for some types of autism. Our technology is just not efficient enough to find them all quite yet.

Is Autism Genetic - I tend to believe that autism most likely has a genetic basis