Published on 12, July, 2020
I've been making the assumption, possibly incorrectly, that I inherited my autism from my undiagnosed mother.
However, I have just looked at some links and now I'm not sure.
The NHS site says that the causes of autism is unknown:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/what-is-autism/
This link talks of a study showing an 80% risk from inherited genes:
https://www.autismspeaks.org/science-news/autism-genetic-study-finds-80-risk-inherited-genes
This earlier article says that children may inherit DNA from fathers who are NOT autistic, but I think (if I'm reading correctly) not from mothers.
https://www.science.org/content/article/autistic-children-may-inherit-dna-mutations-their-fathers
So, I'm a bit confused and would appreciate any clarification.
1. Could we inherit autism from our mothers?
2. With regard to your parents, has either of them been diagnosed?
I believe that some members of the forum are diagnosed and have children diagnosed, so I assume there must be some genetic link.
3. If your parents are/were undiagnosed, has anything led you to believe that one or both of your parents are/were autistic?
Thank you for any input.
I've not been able to find any evidence of any causes of autism other than genetic.
Can anyone else link to anything about non-genetic causes that's not speculative (or share knowledge)?
Thanks.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.../
There is some evidence for problems during pregnancy and possibly labour influencing the development of autism in the child. However, there is little direct evidence of what these problems are. There is some evidence that low levels of folate and the presence of maternal antibodies to foetal tissue may play a role. There is also limited evidence that maternal diet and the maternal gut microbiome may also play a part.
It seems that most research has been on genetic factors. I have read that environmental factors may be a small influence, but I'm not sure what the source data for that is.
I've got no links, though I'll certainly be researching this as it's something I've thought of frequently and wondered about. It's an intriguing thought, what causes autism? I think primarily it likely is genetics. I've got four other siblings and out of them three are also autistic, as is my mum, so definitely in our family it's genetics it seems.
Either that or it's the chips my mum keeps serving us!
Looking back through the family tree it seems my grandfather's brother George was also autistic but I think he must have been severe as he didn't cope well in adult life. After what sounds like frequent meltdowns he was detained under an order in a mental asylum - now closed since 1997, the year I was born - where he stayed until he died in the late 60s. Sad to think that back then you were treated like you were suffering insanity. I feel bad for him, and others, who were wrongly detained for simply being different. I'm glad things aren't quite that bad anymore.
Forgot to say, my sisters son is also autistic, just diagnosed last year.