What causes autism spectrum conditions?
Autism is a brain condition, present from birth, which affects the way the brain processes information. In 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that autism probably results from a genetic susceptibility that involves multiple genes. A variety of factors could be associated with some forms of autism, including infectious, metabolic, genetic, neurological, and environmental factors. Scientists estimate that, in families with one autistic child, the risk of having a second child with the condition is greater than the risk for the general population. One prominent area of speculation is that mercury, used as a preservative in childhood vaccines, may act as a co-agent in triggering a genetic predisposition towards developing autism, though this continues to be vigorously debated.
