Autism – Symptoms, TreatmentMarkPiovesan / What is autismThe causes of autismAutym – symptomsAutism – diagnosisAutism – Autism – Tips for ParentsWhat is autismAutism is a neurological disorder that affects the brain and is most often of a genetic nature. The first symptoms appear already at the stage of childhood and last for the rest of life.
Autism is characterized by the child’s lack of response to commands, lack of play with peers, difficulties in expressing emotions or communicating with both gestures and speech. We often perceive the behavior of an autistic child as strange. This disorder has many varieties, it happens that the child simply develops slower – which is often mistaken for autism. Although there are many factors that increase the risk of autimism, the specific causes are still unknown.
It is not entirely clear what actually causes autism, but genetics is believed to be the main factor (a large number of genes responsible forfor autism) and the environment. Studies with autistic patients have shown some abnormalities in several regions of the brain. In addition, other research suggests that people with autism have poor levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain.
All of this may suggest that disturbances in fetal brain development at an early stage of development and abnormalities in genes may contribute to the development of autism.About 15-20 percent. autistic children have a genetic mutation that increases their risk of developing the disorder, says Insel. Certain genetically determined diseases, such as Fragile X Syndrome and Rett Syndrome, are well known to increase the risk of autism. If parents already have one autistic child, the risk that the other will also be born with this disorder is close to 20%.- groundbreaking research by scientists from the University of California at Davis proves it.