Published on 12, July, 2020
The causes of ASD are a contentious subject and there are many possibilities. My mum suspects that my AS was partially caused by the fact that I stopped growing in the womb at 5 months gestation. She was under a lot of stress as her mum had terminal cancer and died shortly after I was born. My mum was not eating well and on top of this she had to console her dad who lived in LA at the time. He liked to go for long walks in the mountains and my mum accompanied him, experiencing the negative effects of high-altitude.
When it was shown on the scan that I had stopped growing, the Consultant recommended an early birth by caesarean section, but my mum wanted a natural birth. Bed-rest was then advised and luckily I soon began to grow again. I was born just after my due date, weighing in at only 5 pounds 4 ounces. I was small and thin. I am a naturally small person and both my parents are small, but I should have been about 6 pounds at birth. Could this have contributed to my ASD? Asperger's does not run in my family in any serious way, although I have two second cousins who are on the spectrum and I can certainly identify oddities in some of my family members.
its usually caused by issues in the social development phase of growing up in childhood... that is usually caused by parents not allowing you to socialise with other kids in that time frame. then you never pick it up later on as the window closes on the once in a lifetime social development phase. this is why parents are often sensitive about autism diagnosis as it often points the finger at them for smothering their kid at a young age socially.
Hi Hope
Thank you for sharing your story here. I think when a diagnosis of ASD is made, it is only natural to try to figure out where it may have come from. I can see why your mum has some theories about when you stopped growing but the truth is that the true reason will probably not be found although, research is ongoing as to the many different reasons why AS develops in many different situations. It is true that many people with ASD have had problems in the womb or have had a traumatic birth or post natal period but there simply isn't enough research into this to justify it being a reason at the moment. I, myself, had a difficult birth and have some thoughts about whether that and a subsequent infection in my son in the early days of his life contributed to ASD but I also have many other theories which I won't bore you with lol. I'm not sure I've been helpful but thank you for sharing your thoughts :-)