My ASD Child

"What might be some of the environmental factors involved with autism spectrum disorders, and how would they interplay with genetics?" The rate of diagnosed cases of ASD level 1 (high-functioning autism) grows each year. A number of experts believe that the rising Asperger’s rate is an epidemic that will continue to grow, and they claim that the cause of autism must be environmental. Other experts argue that the increased number of cases is not due to an epidemic, but instead due to a better understanding of how to diagnose these children with symptoms that were previously missed. Still others claim that the rate of the disorder is not growing more now and would have been larger in the past if the current diagnostic criteria were in place. Environmental Factors— A variety of environmental triggers is under investigation as a cause (or contributing factor) to the development of ASD and other autism spectrum disorders, especially in a genetically vulnerable youngster: