Yes, autism is mostly genetic but not completely so because environmental factors such as prematurity, birth and pregnancy difficulties etc can activate the genetic predisposition that does not usually operate in isolation from the external environment.
Autism is not caused by a single gene but by an interaction between several 'vulnerability genes'. You can have these genes without having autism because to have the autistic syndrome you need to have an environmental trigger of some sort. THere is therefore no inevitability about having a second autistic child, although the odds are raised very slightly if you already have a child on the spectrum. The risk increases still more if there are multiple cases in the familly. As for mercury, lead, and MMR being responsible for a hypothisised rise in real cases of autism, there is no evidence at all that this is the case. Autism is not a disease caused by pathological toxins, it is primarily a genetic difference.
Yes, autism is mostly genetic but not completely so because environmental factors such as prematurity, birth and pregnancy difficulties etc can activate the genetic predisposition that does not usually operate in isolation from the external environment.
Autism is not caused by a single gene but by an interaction between several 'vulnerability genes'. You can have these genes without having autism because to have the autistic syndrome you need to have an environmental trigger of some sort. THere is therefore no inevitability about having a second autistic child, although the odds are raised very slightly if you already have a child on the spectrum. The risk increases still more if there are multiple cases in the familly. As for mercury, lead, and MMR being responsible for a hypothisised rise in real cases of autism, there is no evidence at all that this is the case. Autism is not a disease caused by pathological toxins, it is primarily a genetic difference.
