what causes autism?

Nobody knows what causes autism, and there is no cure for it. Unless it is very severe, the child will eventually "grow out" of some of the symptoms as neurological development goes on. If the person has normal intelligence, they will learn to adapt so that some of the symptoms are easier to live with. Autism ranges from very severe to very mild. At the mild end, it's usually called Asperger's, though that diagnosis may be done away with fairly soon. I have mild Asperger's and, like many other people with it, I consider that I'm on the autism spectrum. It isn't always a major handicap, but small children need the support of their parents, and some may always need support.

I think it's due to congenital defects that accrue with the age of the parents due to chromosomal damage. There is likely no more incidence of autism today than there was 50 years ago. But what's happened is that diagnosis is better, so while the number of kids just labeled generic "retarded" has gone down, the number diagnosed with autism has gone up. Plus kids with Asperger's disease (part of the autism spectrum) might have gone undiagnosed at all before, and now they're being counted. It's been proven that vaccines have no effect on rates of autism, but it is a myth that will not die. There are I believe some preliminary tests for autism in the experimental phase right now--but that's for kids already diagnosed as autistic. There's no blood test to see if you are more likley to have an autistic child. However, to a certain extent it runs in families so autistic relatives increase your chances of having a child with autism. They've found certain chromosomal abnormalities, and different abnormalities in different places cause different types of autism--they're also breaking down autism into types, rather than just lumping all together, with one type being kids with very visual memories, others with a mathematical emphasis, others with ear and hearing issues, etc.

I believe that the MMR vaccination can cause autism in some children but not others. The National Health Service do not wish to panic parents but they expect the child to have this at 13 months old. I said no thank you for it for my disabled toddler son and my baby daughter. My teenage son is mildly touched with aspergers syndrome which is a type of autism. My toddler son has got spina bifida and hydrocephalus. He goes to a playgroup for disabled children so of which have autism. Aspergers syndrome is higher functioning autism and my older son is clever. He does well at school. He speaks in a formal sort of way and he is gifted with history.

Hi, Up to date,no one knows for sure what causes autism.From experts point of view, autism is more likely to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Still,there's no definite answer.As a highly controversial subject, 2 theories were made linking autism to vaccines.MMR(Mumps-Measles-Rubella) vaccination which may lead to intestinal problems, could trigger austistic developments. The second one is a mercury based perservative found in certain vaccines could be connected to autism as well.Dealing with an autistic child needs absolute patience nd tolerance.Above all,nothing works better for them then our unconditional love.