Thursday, 17 May 2012

Causes of autism

It is not yet certain what causes Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Genetics have a significant role. A number of chromosomes that might be responsible for the occurrence of the disorder are being examined by researchers. It is possible that some genes interact in a particular way and hand in hand with some environmental factors, autism develops.

This genetic link suggests that these disorders could be inherited,; and therefore autism and Asperger syndrome could run in families. A So, siblings of a child with the disorder are 75 times more likely to develop the condition.

In recent years, there have been improvements in doctors' ability to diagnose these disorders. However, those older in age and with milder symptoms may never have been diagnosed.  It has happened that parents had realised they had similar problems as their child, once the child was diagnosed.

Boys are in higher risk of developing these disorders than girl. Although, researchers suggest that the severity of the condition may be more in girls.

There are a number of environmental factors that are believed to affect a child’s brain development before, during and after birth. There have also been speculations that there is a link between MMR vaccination and ASD. However, scientific evidence has failed to confirm such theory.

Diagnosing ASD has no specific test. It is based on the occurrence of symptoms, and it may even be missed in milder cases.

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