Is autism genetic?

In addition to genetic variations that are inherited and are present in nearly all of a person's cells, recent research has also shown that de novo, or spontaneous, gene mutations can influence the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder. read more

Certain known genetic disorders are associated with an increased risk for autism, including Fragile X syndrome (which causes intellectual disability) and tuberous sclerosis (which causes benign tumors to grow in the brain and other vital organs) — each of which results from a mutation in a single, but different, gene. read more

Autism isn't just frustrating for parents. It is frustrating for scientists too. There is clearly a genetic part to autism. It tends to run in families. And identical twins, who share the same genes, are much more likely to both have autism than are fraternal twins. So genes are involved. read more

The heritability of autism is the proportion of differences in expression of autism that can be explained by genetic variation; if the heritability of a condition is high, then the condition is considered to be primarily genetic. read more