This question, however, has no straightforward answer because there is no single cause of ASD.
Complications during pregnancy or having children later in life may also play a role.
The way the disorder is transmitted down generational lines is not completely understood.
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Neurexin 1 is a gene we all have that plays a vital role in communication in the brain.
Some research shows that disruptions with this gene play a factor in the development of autism.
However, there is no evidence to support that disruptions with this gene alone are capable of causing autism.
There is some evidence to suggest that multiple genes could be involved with ASD.
ASD is sometimes associated with other neurodevelopmental disorders such as Downs syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome.
Pregnancy Complications
Pregnancy complications such as multiple pregnancies and preterm pregnancies are also contributing factors.
Environmental Risk Factors
Certain environmental influences could increase the risk of a person developing ASD.
Environmental factors also tend to include events that occur after a person is pregnant with a child.
However, young children are exposed to thousands of toxic materials in early childhood and during pregnancy.
Lifestyle Risk Factors
It used to be believed that certain vaccines could cause ASD.
This is untrue, and decades of research have continued to disprove these theories.
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