How do you develop autism?

SPEAKER 1: Autism is a developmental disorder, meaning that symptoms are apparent from early on in life. You cannot develop autism later in life. What can happen is that autism is detected later in life. But then, when you look back, symptoms were apparent from early on. But how do you get autism when you’re a child? We know that autism develops very early, already in the womb. People used to think that children get autism because their moms are detached or cold, but we now know this isn’t true. You might also have heard that you can get autism from vaccinations, but there’s no evidence to support this. Unfortunately, we’re still not sure about the causes of autism.

What we do know is that autism is a genetic disorder. Someone who has a brother, or a sister, or a father, or a mother with autism has a higher chance of developing autism him or herself. Research has also shown that identical twins have a higher chance of both developing autism, compared to fraternal twins. This indicates a genetic cause. Finally, autism is more common in boys than girls.