what do you think causes ASD??

[sleepyhorse]

Just wondered if anyone knows as I can't seem to find any website that pinpoints the causes. Is it unknown?

I think it's multiple causes all with similar (ish) features as the outcome

ok but do they think it's something in your genes or is it something that goes wrong during pregnancy? (i.e if you have a bug or severe morning sickness).

Unknown.
On another website I belonged to, I think we pooled all our information and ended up with the mother having size 4 feet, liking the colour green for soft furnishings, knowing the words to I will survive and having eaten potatoes during pregnancy.
Vicarinatutu might remember more details.

I look at my OH and various males on both sides of the family and reckon genetics.

From what I know it is a combination of 5 certain genes with a trigger, the thing they don't know is what that trigger maybe! Not sure who they are or which genes are needed but I do remember this from a course I did on Autism a few years back.

i think its definetely genetic.

Current research suggests about 70% genetic, but there are lots of genes involved. And MMR does not cause autism.

Here are a couple of recent research papers on the origins of autism.

www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn1770.html

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.00433.x/pdf

My dd has a very small chromosome deletion, so it's genetic with her

Have look at some of these research papers and the multiple issues

Motor-auditory-visual integration: The role of the human mirror neuron system in communication and communication disorders
The Genetics of Autism
Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Management of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Behavioural and Developmental Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Clinical Systematic Review
A GENOME-WIDE LINKAGE AND ASSOCIATION SCAN REVEALS NOVEL LOCI FOR AUTISM
A Parallel and Distributed Processing Model of Joint Attention, Social-Cognition and Autism
What aspects of autism predispose to talent?
Effects of Background Noise on Cortical Encoding of Speech in Autism Spectrum Disorders
There are many more research papers, some of which can be accessed from the PubMed research paper library, by putting "autism" in their search engine.

One cause is that there are a few genes that give you a predisposition, then there are environmental triggers.

And still there are other causes that produce the observable behavious associated with ASD which range from being born with missing pieces of the brain to an accident, and there are things like attachment disorder that can cause ASD-like behaviours that can be hard to undo if continue unaddressed into adulthood.

I think its a number of things, i think for us its genetics (i can see ASD traits on both sides of our family and dh's Aunt has a dd with ASD). Dd1 showed signs of ASD from birth (was a horid baby), dd2 didn't show any signs until after her MMR, Dh has AS traits and as a child i was similar to DD2. So for us its deffently in the family, not something we have caused and not something that i did during pregnancy (although it doesn't stop me looking for other possibilities).

I think the current theory is that there are probably several different causes many of which are genetic but some of them are environmental. They combine to cause a range of ASDs of wide ranges in severity. That is coupled with the fact that some children would have more than one trigger and therefore creates a very complicated picture which will be very difficult to unravel. There's definitely a genetic element to my girl's autism which is very obvious in several other members of the family.

I think genetic predisposition plus some triggers.

I do think one of the triggers can be inflammation in the brain (which could be caused by some jabs) or even high/uncontrolled temperature. If the brain is inflamed, the wiring in the brain can get muddled up.

So whilst the jabs themselves may not be a direct cause, they can be indirect in some more susceptible cases due to inflamation/temperature. This may even apply to period of high temp in pregnancy - imo, anyway.

I have 2 children - 1 AS, 1 appears so far to be NT (only 3). I think there may be a poss predisposition with genetics, but also some form of trigger as well. DH has some traits of AS, but I would definitely not class him as AS, but I did not have a typical pregnancy with DS1. I developed pancreatitis at 19 weeks and became V jaundiced, had to have an element of radiation during the ERCP to remove the stone. Another poss trigger was that DS1 was very jaundiced at birth and had triple phototherapy as a newborn and also LOTS of antibiotics due to a mysterious infection. I'll prob never know why DS1 has AS for sure but can't help but wonder if my illness caused it - still I nearly lost him at 20 weeks and am very grateful that he is here at all and love him to bits!

Don't know. Would never have said anyone in either my or DH family even vaguely ASD. My score is so low as to be the total opposite of ASD eg too empathetic etc etc. DH very creative and def not ASD. DS1 and DS2 not a hint. Then DS3 NT until 2, then massive regression and full blown ASD. So now I know about ASD i can see some hints in my younger sister eg bit geeky and nerdy in a collects trivia kind of way, always struggled a bit socially, bit boring to talk to when she gets on a topic of interest (turns into monologue) - but she would no way tick all the boxes as she was very successful academically, can network for England, was a total joiner at school and very popular at primary, less so at secondary, language always way ahead, grade A student in everything (including very creative subjects) and doesn't have the rigidity etc. Its only now I know about ASD i can see aspects of it. The only thing I have read which resonates is that the risk is higher as you get older. Although I was not that old (36) when I had DS and my Mum had my sister at 40, that seems the only connection as there really is no genetic evidence looking around other relatives. I read something about age gap between children as well eg if closer together risk was higher.

I go for the unknown genetic predisposition plus unknown environmental factors. I can, in retrospect, see autistic traits in my DH's family, and a bit in myself . My DS1 is geeky, DS2 has ASD, DS3 is unDX but definitely on the edge of the spectrum. Pgs were normal, we were not young parents, 32, 34 and 37. The age of the father may be a factor. DS2 was autistic before his MMR, no regression just stalled development. I worry about grandchildren! DS1's girlfriend is uber geeky.

DH and I took a FB (sorry ) How Autistic Are You? questionnaire and almost went off the scale, both of us.

He is a computer programmer / games designer. Both his maternal and paternal grandfathers were innovative engineers as was his father. I don't know about my family as I'm adopted but I am a very successful underachiever due to not knowing or caring about people management, diplomacy and politics amongst other things

I've heard that birth trauma might be a factor but perhaps not in our case. DS did have the cord around his neck briefly but due to a medical condition I have there were three professionals guiding me during the second stage and it was well managed. I remained awake all night BF and gazing into his eyes. That gaze drifted away little by little over the next few months until I was used to him looking anywhere but at me when he was feeding

DS was clearly autistic before his MMR but was extremely ill afterwards and has never been the same since in terms of his bowels and food intake. Make of that what you will. The professionals seem to turn deaf when that's mentioned. Even in a TAC meeting when there are six or seven of them there

Genetics : )

Dad, Pt Gran, 1/2 bro all full blown ASD - so not hard to connect the dots. There is also a VERY strong dairy intolerance running down that side that made a lot of sense for me when I read the Sunderland protocol.

My side - LOTS of highly creative dyslexics, complete pride in our rep as eccentrics/rebels (political rebels, innovators in fields such as medicine), lots of undiagnosed ADHD types, (like everyone on my Dad's side).

Thinking "in the box" is a bit of an alien concept for both sides, so DS would really suffer in a family of "nice NT's".

I've said before though that I feel strongly that the ASD spctrum is really a variety of similar conditions with very different causes and that it's a big ol' tangle that science has not yet teased out. Neuroscience is a discipline still in it's embryonic stages, despite the claims of many professionals. They don't even know yet how much they don't know as the human brain is so complex.

In years to come I firmly believe that what is now comminly shoved in a bucket called "ASD" with a few minor variant labels such as HFA, retts, aspbergers, pda etc will eventually be known by as many as 20 different labels, all with differing causes and treatments/therapies.

These will be as wide ranging as prompt anti-virals, diet, sensory stuff, better, earlier behavioral therapy, metabolic corrections, right through to brain surgery. The sheer range & variety of differing symptoms, behaviors etc our kids demonstrate makes me feel in my gut it cannot be otherwise.

Thanks for all your comments. xx

In years to come I firmly believe that what is now comminly shoved in a bucket called "ASD" with a few minor variant labels such as HFA, retts, aspbergers, pda etc will eventually be known by as many as 20 different labels, all with differing causes and treatments/therapies.

I def agree with this.

Well if you ask any of the idiots that I have spoken to over the years then ASD is caused by numerous things such as:

Single parenting
Poor parenting
Lesbian's
Drinking during pregnancy

In actual fact it seems to be a combination of gene's and early experiances. Completely agree with Bochead.

I think genetic predisposition, along with certain triggers that as yet are not scientifically proven.

ASD definitely runs right through the males of dh's family going back a long way. I also believe my maternal grandfather had AS. I have ds1 who has AS, ds2 who has some traits, but nowhere near enough for a diagnosis and nothing that causes him any problems and dd, who I am 99.999999% sure is nt, but is only 2.

I hope that what is currently known as the spectrum will eventually be broken down into smaller segments which will have identified and proven treatments and therapies - but I think we are a long, long way off that at the moment. I think one of the main problems in breaking it all down is the co-morbidity and cross-over of different problems.

The latest research from the worldwide Autism Genome Project pinpoints an array of genes implicated in autism, each of which cause a different "bit" of the autism - eg speech delay, low muscle tone, gut problems etc. That makes a lot of sense to me - each autistic child is so different from every other that it makes sense many different genes are involved, a large proportion of which are to do with brain development. Some of the genetic defects they say are inherited, some may just be birth defects. To me, this kind of research gives hope of future treatments one day, as drugs/gene therapy develop and grow in effectiveness.