Looking at causes for Autism
I had a fascinating conversation with Dr. Gordon Ramsay, Director of the Marcus Autism Center, a NIH Center of Excellence, at Emory University, Atlanta Georgia.
Since many premature babies, particularly 6 month preemies, are apt to have autism, I asked him if he thought that autism could be caused by an unfinished neurology. He said he thought it could, but noted that autistic traits tend to run in families, and that implies biological inheritance. Autism can also appear in twins where fertility drugs have helped achieve pregnancy.
Then he came up with a question that he said haunts him, and now his question is haunting me:
If autism can originate from different neurological sources—and it looks as though it can– why do all these children share social characteristics so recognizably similar that we can call their condition “autism.”?
Let me know your thoughts. I will be doing a webinar with Gordon Ramsey so subscribe to my blog and I will let you know when that is happening.
