How do you get autism?

This question has been posted in these health communities: Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Q: How do you get autism?

Amaze
Health Consumer Organisation

Autism Victoria, trading as Amaze, is a member-based not-for-profit organisation and is the peak body for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in the state of Victoria. View profile
Our understanding of the causes of autism are limited at this time, although more information is coming to light as there is a lot of research happening in this area.

What we do know is that you cannot catch autism. Because the symptoms are present either at birth or in the years immediately after, it seems likely that it is a disorder that people are born with. There is good evidence of heritability, but it is a very complex mechanism.

It is possible there are other factors involved that might affect a child’s neural development or trigger certain genes to activate, but a lot of the links between environmental factors (like vaccines) have proven to be false.

If you would like to read more, they have some information at the Raising Children Network. Reply to this post | Report
Reply to this post

You must be a Healthshare member to reply to this post. Log in to your account or Sign up now (it's free)