Nurture vs Nature - Autism

The cause of autism and ASD has been a topic for much discussion, research, and debate for years, more so as the prevalence of this disorder increases.  There has recently been a quantity of research regarding genetic links to ASD.  In fact, in a post from last month, I discussed a couple of these studies, which were finding more solid links between certain genes and proteins and autism.

Today a new study reports a more tangible link to environment in development, as well.  Often, children in a family are more likely to have autism if another family member also has it.  This study on twins and families indicated that up to 55% of the cause of autism may be environmental.  While this seems to be contradictory to the previous studies, it is not.

It is becoming more and more clear that autism is not simply something you are born with, an "in your genes, if you have it you have it and there's nothing to be done" disorder.  Instead, while ASD is certainly linked to genetics, it is also largely influenced by environment.  A child with the genetics that say he or she may have ASD will not necessarily develop autism.  Instead, whether or not they present autistic symptoms may be determined by other factors.

Think of it like this.  Everyone who gets speeding tickets and traffic violations has (or had) a vehicle, or at least used one.  However, not everyone who has a vehicle gets traffic violations.  Having the vehicle is necessary to the ticket, but is not the sole factor.

Likewise, it is appearing more and more likely that while genetics may determine who is at risk or likely to develop ASD, environment plays a role as well, possibly even in larger part than genes.  When it comes to ASD, nature and nurture work together to decide if an individual will begin displaying autistic symptoms or not.