Is there one cause of autism? Do all autistic children act the same way? Or is autism heterogeneous?

Question

If some autism is what used to be called early childhood schizophrenia. and one third of all schizophrenia is caused by older fathers, it makes sense that autism rates would be rising because paternal age is so high. Why don't we all know about this risk factor for autism?

Answer 1

No one knows what causes autism but it is most likely to be a number of different factors. Because autism is on such a large and varied spectrum no two autistic people act the same. Hereditary factors seem to play a large part in autism but because it is such a recent diagnosis it is still hard to determine.

Answer 2

No one knows what causes autism.  There is no one cause at this point.  All children with autism act differently, much like all other individuals in the world.  Some are considered high functioning, and they are able to do certain subjects in school, but may lack socially.  Everyone is different.  

I think the rise in autism is partially because it has been researched more in the past 20 years.  It's now known, when before, it wasn't recognized as much.  THey know have more "levels" of autism than before, and more parents want to know if their child has autism.

Answer 3

Autismis a wide spectrum.  there are some conditions that are associated with autism symptoms such as Fragile X, but in most cases it is not known what caused it.

Some children seem to be affected byy certain food such as Gluton and casien (sp?)

Some by environemntal toxins and many other things

It is believed thatthere is a genetic predisposition

Autsim can range from mild signs and people that are indistinguishable from tehir peers once tehy compensate to people that are profoundly disabled in diapers and tuve feeding

Answer 4

There are two major types of autism, of which you have probably heard, they are autism and Asperger’s syndrome.  First let’s look at classical autism, how would we recognise it?  Well, autism was first recognised in the mid 1940’s by a psychiatrist called Leo Kanner.  He described a group of children, whom he was treating, who presented with some very unusual symptoms such as; - atypical social development, irregular development of communication and language, and recurring / repetitive and obsessional behaviour with aversion to novelty and refusal to accept change.  His first thoughts were that they were suffering some sort of childhood psychiatric disorder.

At around the same time that Kanner was grappling with the problems of these children, a German scientist, Hans Asperger was caring for a group of children whose behaviour also seemed irregular.  Asperger suggested that these children were suffering from what he termed ‘autistic psychopathy.’ These children experienced remarkably similar symptoms to the children described by Kanner, with a single exception. – Their language development was normal!  There is still an ongoing debate as to whether autism and Asperger’s syndrome are separable conditions, or whether Asperger’s syndrome is merely a mild form of autism

What is the cause of autism?

In the 1960s and 1970s there arose a theory that autism was caused by abnormal family relationships.  This led on to the ‘refrigerator mother’ theory, which claimed that autism in the child was caused by cold, emotionless mothers! (Bettleheim, 1967).  However the weight of evidence quickly put this theory to bed as evidence was found to support the idea that the real cause was to be found in abnormalities in the brain.  This evidence was quickly followed by findings, which clearly demonstrated that the EEGs of autistic children were, in many cases, atypical and the fact that a large proportion of autistic children also suffered from epilepsy.

From this time, autism has been looked upon as a disorder, which develops as a consequence of abnormal brain development.  Recently, evidence has shown that in some cases, the abnormal brain development may be caused by specific genes.

However, we should not forget that genes can only express themselves if the appropriate environmental conditions exist for them to do so and so, we should not rule out additional, environmental causes for autism.  We should not forget that autism can also be caused by brain-injury, that an insult to the brain can produce the same effects as can abnormal development of the brain, which may have been caused by genetic and other environmental factors.   I have seen too many children who have suffered oxygen starvation at birth, who have gone on to display symptoms of autism or Asperger’s syndrome. So, it is my view that autism can also be caused by brain-injury.

  I believe therefore, that the cause of autism therefore needs no complicated definition, whether it is produced by genes, environmental causes, such as alcohol abuse or abuse of other drugs, infection, jaundice, malnutrition, or one of many other causes, - or by oxygen starvation.  It is simple and easy to understand.  The cause of autism is brain–injury.  I believe it is that simple!  The important and simple thing to remember is that autism is caused by brain–injury, in the same way that cerebral palsy is caused by brain-injury.  In fact, autism is an expression of brain–injury, again in the same way that cerebral palsy is an expression of brain-injury.

Difficulty in socialisation is an area, which characterises the entire concept of autism. To many parents the lack of willingness on the part of their autistic child to share in normal social action is of paramount concern.  One parent described her child as having social amnesia.

The social impairments, which typify autism are exact, that is, the child’s social conduct is not atypical universally.  It is incorrect to declare that children, who are autistic, have a deficiency in their level of curiosity in other people.  What they are deficient in is the proficiency for conveying or exploiting that interest.  Uninjured babies are focused on faces and voices, whereas autistic children do not seem to be!  They do not turn automatically to the sound of a voice, or fix their eyes on a parent’s face, and may actively avoid meeting their vision.  In many cases, this is due to sensory impairments, which can block the development of these social skills.

The importance of play

One of the first signs that a toddler or preschooler has autism is their atypical play.  Even the brightest youngsters with autism display highly unusual patterns of play.  Classically, children with autism over-focus their attention on visual aspects of specific toys, or noises, which their toys make.  Many researchers see this as a lack of imagination in autistic individuals and it is true to say that children with autism do lack imagination and spontaneity within their behaviour, preferring to stick rigidly to routines with which they feel comfortable and safe.  What I claim though, is that many times, these problems are created as a result of the sensory distortions, which they suffer.  

Hope this helps.

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Answer 5

There is still no known cause of autism. Autism is a spectrum disorder from very mild to very severe.

Some of the characteristics that present themselves are non-social, no eye contact, sensory stimulation needs (flapping, jumping, repetitive noises, etc.), perseveration in many areas , and so on.