Causes of autism

Author: Dr. Francesc Cuxart (ASEPAC-Barcelona-ES)

Etiology

Introduction

The history of autism shows us that, since the first definition of the syndrome (1943) and until the 60’s, theories about the causes of this disorder were fundamentally of a psychogenic kind. Concretely, it was postulated that the behaviour presented by those boys and girls was the consequence of a psychological disorder arisen during the genesis of the first affective bonds with parents, which were emotionally very cold persons with little interest in human relationships.

This situation did not start changing until the middle 60’s and because of follow-up studies. Specifically, it was the observation that, when reaching the adolescence, an important ratio of individuals with autism manifested epilepsy seizures, which raised the suspicion that the organic factors obviously had to play a relevant role in the origin of the syndrome. From then on, biological researches started trying to determinate the concrete causes of autism. These researches, which gradually increased and although until today they have not allowed to precise the concrete etiological and pathogenic processes, have shown that psychogenic theories of autism are not supported by empirical data. Therefore, the origin of this disorder should be found in genetic, metabolic or viral factors that, individually or jointly, provoke a prenatal impairment (in most of cases) leading to an abnormal development of the CNS, which is subsequently expressed through an extended behavioural symptomatology...

Download full document. 121 KB.