Over the past few years, autism has been on the rise. According to the Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation, approximately 12 in 1000 children in the United States are on the autism spectrum. Thus, there is roughly a 15% annual increase in autism, making it one of the fastest growing developmental disorders.
No single cause of autism
In recent years there have been several speculations regarding the cause of autism, such as vaccines that mothers received when they were children or environmental hazards such as air pollution from factories. In many cases, it is believed that autism occurs due to a genetic predisposition along with some sort of environmental event impacting early brain development.
Does family history cause
Many adults fall along the autism spectrum, but have never been diagnosed. Thus, a parent with struggles with social interactions or poor communication, may have an autistic child. In addition, if one child in the family has autism, there is an increased risk that another child will have the same disorder. What are the causes of autism spectrum disorder?
Who can get autism
Autism doesn’t discriminate. Autism occurs in both boys and girls. However statistically, autism occurs more often in boys. So why are boys more affected by autism? Although there are plenty of theories however, nobody knows that for sure. Autism does not appear to be more prevalent in any one particular culture or ethnicity.
Who is at risk for autism
A child with certain medical conditions, such as fragile X syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, or Tourette’s syndrome, is at a higher risk of having autism.
Does autism range in severity
Autism varies from one person to another. When a child is diagnosed with autism, the severity of the developmental disability is typically defined as a level of Asperger’s Syndrome or in terms of autism spectrum disorders. Autism can range from mild to severe. For example, most autistic children have difficulties with social interactions. For one child this challenge may come across as awkward conversations, where as another child might not be able to verbally express his wants or needs. Autism impacts each child in different ways.