Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Causes

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• QWhat increases the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?

  3 Answers

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  A Dr. Coleen Boyle, PhD, MS , Public Health & General Preventive Medicine, answered on behalf of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

  We do not know all of the causes of ASDs. However, we have learned that there are likely many causes for multiple types of ASDs. There may be many different factors that make a child more likely to have an ASD, including environmental, biologic and genetic factors.

  • Most scientists agree that genes are one of the risk factors that can make a person more likely to develop an ASD.   
  • Children who have a sibling or parent with an ASD are at a higher risk of also having an ASD.
  • ASDs tend to occur more often in people who have certain other medical conditions. About 10 percent of children with an ASD have an identifiable genetic disorder, such as Fragile X syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, Down syndrome and other chromosomal disorders.
  • Some harmful drugs taken during pregnancy have been linked with a higher risk of ASDs, for example, the prescription drugs thalidomide and valproic acid.
  • We know that the once-common belief that poor parenting practices cause ASDs is not true.
  • There is some evidence that the critical period for developing ASDs occurs before birth. However, concerns about vaccines and infections have led researchers to consider risk factors before and after birth.

  The presence of the CDC logo and CDC content on this page should not be construed to imply endorsement by the US Government of any commercial products or services, or to replace the advice of a medical professional. The mark “CDC” is licensed under authority of the PHS.

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• QWhat causes PDD-NOS?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A The Dan Marino Foundation answered

  The causes of PDD-NOS are still unknown. There is a strong belief in the medical community that that the disability’s origin is genetic and/or biological and affects brain function, but specific biological mechanisms remain unclear. There is a possibility that more than one variable could be responsible for the different symptoms that are present in those individuals with PDD-NOS.
  
  There are no factors in a child’s upbringing that are responsible for PDD-NOS. Parents do not cause PDD-NOS.
  
  Source: Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (CARD)
• QCan vaccines cause autism?

  13 Answers

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  A Dr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answered

  People who support vaccines cite studies that show vaccines do not cause autism. Large-scale epidemiologic studies in a number of countries, including Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States, clearly demonstrate that vaccines are not responsible for the epidemic of autism. Vaccines might trigger autism in a small number of genetically primed individuals with a very rare preexisting disease of the mitochondria; and these people most probably would have developed autism even if they hadn't received the vaccine. In this situation, a virus or another environmental insult can just as easily be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
  
  People against vaccines cite the stories of parents describing the transformation of their previously healthy children into children with autism spectrum disorder soon after and in immediate relationship to vaccination. For critics, the accounts are too strong and too common to avoid the conclusion that vaccines can cause autism.
  
  As I see it, there is no known association between vaccination and autism, or, to state it another way, vaccination is not the cause of the autism epidemic. However, environmental circumstances such as another viral infection causing a high fever, or a high fever plus a vaccine may bring out autism in genetically susceptible children. We cannot currently identify such vulnerable children prior to vaccination. As genetic triggers become better known, and as testing becomes safer, less expensive, and more available, we may be able to identify all individuals at risk for virus-plus-vaccine-triggered diseases and avoid vaccinating them, or avoid vaccinating them while they're exposed to a particular infection. For all who choose vaccination, make sure that your child is in good health, is well hydrated before getting the shot, and is not receiving antibiotics. If your child or another family member is sick, schedule his vaccines for another time. Treat any postvaccine fever and irritability aggressively, and hydrate the young patient: with breast milk or formula for children not yet one year old; with water, milk, or Pedialyte for toddlers; and with water, milk, or 100 percent juice for older children. Then proceed according to your pediatrician's instructions.

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• QHow can a pregnant woman prevent autism in her baby?

  2 Answers

  A

  

  A William Stillman , Health Education, answered

  There is no prenatal test to determine autism in a fetus in utero; however, as various environmental factors are under research investigation for autism causation, the wise mother will closely monitor what she eats, drinks, breathes, and topically applies to her skin as she should to ensure the overall health of her baby no matter its way-of-being in the world.

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• QWhat are the risk factors for Autism Spectrum Disorders in children?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Dr. Coleen Boyle, PhD, MS , Public Health & General Preventive Medicine, answered on behalf of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

  We do not know all of the causes of ASDs. However, we have learned that there are likely many causes for multiple types of ASDs. There may be many different factors that make a child more likely to have an ASD, including environmental, biologic, and genetic factors.
   

  • Most scientists agree that genes are one of the risk factors that can make a person more likely to develop an ASD.   
  • Children who have a sibling or parent with an ASD are at a higher risk of also having an ASD.
  • ASDs tend to occur more often in people who have certain other medical conditions. About 10% of children with an ASD have an identifiable genetic disorder, such as Fragile X syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, Down syndrome and other chromosomal disorders.
  • Some harmful drugs taken during pregnancy have been linked with a higher risk of ASDs, for example, the prescription drugs thalidomide and valproic acid.
  • We know that the once-common belief that poor parenting practices cause ASDs is not true.
  • There is some evidence that the critical period for developing ASDs occurs before birth. However, concerns about vaccines and infections have led researchers to consider risk factors before and after birth.

  The presence of the CDC logo and CDC content on this page should not be construed to imply endorsement by the US Government of any commercial products or services, or to replace the advice of a medical professional. The mark “CDC” is licensed under authority of the PHS.
• QCan mercury in vaccines cause autism?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Joane Goodroe , Nursing, answered

  According to the CDC, research does NOT show any link between the type of mercury in vaccines and autism. They also point out that the mercury was taken out of childhood vaccines in 2001 and the rates of autism have continued to climb. For more information: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Concerns/thimerosal/thimerosal_faqs.html

   

• QWhat role does inheritance play in autism?

  4 Answers

  A

  

  A Riverside Health System answered

  Twin and family studies strongly suggest that some people have a genetic predisposition to autism. Identical twin studies show that if one twin is affected, there is a 90 percent chance for the other twin to be affected too. Several studies are in progress to determine the specific genetic factors associated with the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In families with one child with ASD, the risk of having a second child with the disorder is approximately five percent, or one in twenty. This is greater than the risk for the general population. Researchers are looking for clues about the genes that contribute to this increased susceptibility. In some cases, parents and other relatives of a child with ASD show mild impairments in social and communicative skills or engage in repetitive behaviors. Evidence also suggests that some emotional disorders, such as manic depression, occur more frequently than average in the families of people with ASD.

  This answer is based on source information from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

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• QWhat are the risk factors for a child developing autism?

  1 Answer

  A

  

  A Joane Goodroe , Nursing, answered

  Very little is known about the risk factors that cause autism. A new study called EARLI is a network of research sites that will enroll and follow 1,200 mothers of children with autism at the start of another pregnancy and document the newborn child’s development through three years of age. The EARLI Study will examine possible environmental risk factors for autism and study whether there is any interplay between environmental factors and genetic susceptibility.

  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in every 110 children has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the country; however, little is known about what causes it.

  For more information, visit the website: http://www.earlistudy.org/

• QDid I cause my child's autism?

  3 Answers

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  A Chantal Sicile-Kira , Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities, answered

  A common pattern among moms is to wonder what they did wrong: drinking or taking medications during pregnancy, exercising too much, allowing the child to be vaccinated? This guilt add to an already stressful situation. Please don’t feel guilty about your child's condition. You did not cause his autism and you have done the best you can at any given time.
  

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• QIs autism more common in hi-tech environments?

  1 Answer

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  A Joane Goodroe , Nursing, answered

  A recent study published that was conducted in the Netherlands found more children with autism lived in a high tech IT sector. These findings follow a theory called the "hyper-systemizing" theory of autism. This theory proposes that people with autism have a strong desire to understand the workings of systems, the researchers said. Such skills are valued in IT-related fields, including engineering, physics, computing and mathematics. The outcome of the study was the need to study more information in this area.