IT SEEMS clear that autism is caused by something that either damages the
brain or prevents it developing properly. But what?
According to one of the most widely accepted theories, autism is at least
partly a genetic disorder. But the picture emerging from genetic studies is very
complicated, with autism being linked to many different locations on the
genome.
And while many autistic children show signs of autism from birth, some seem
to develop normally but then regress after their first year. That suggests it is
triggered by something in the environment. It may well be both: something in the…
