What causes autism spectrum disorders

Possible causes of ASD
Many causes of autism have been proposed, but its theory of causation is still incomplete.

So far, the following facts are known about the causes of autism. It is a consequence of a disorder,a malfunction of the mind. There is however no specific cause of autism positively identified yet.

The only widely accepted ideas concerning the cause of autism are that it is considered to bepresent at birth (though it appears later on in life), is caused by abnormalities in the brain, and maybe genetic. However, what causes the brain abnormalities and which genes are affected by thedisorder are still up for debate. One other certainty concerning the cause of ASDs is that it is nota psychological disorder caused by poor parenting, unconsciously rejecting a child, or failing tobond emotionally. These theories have caused enormous guilt in parents and lack any scientificvalidity.

Listed are some possible causes of ASD.
•Biological Basis/Brain Structure/Neurotransmitters
•Hereditary/Genetic
•Pregnancy/Birth Injury
•Mercury/Toxins/Vaccinations

Medically speaking, autism is seen as a symptom, a phenomenon or a combination of phenomenawith different causes. These causes cover a wide spectrum from genetic (chromosome related)disorders caused by Mendel’s law of Independent Assortment (PKU) to infections and harmfulsubstances like alcohol and Thalidomide.

What causes autism spectrum disorders
Asperger's Syndrome in Laymens Terms. Aspergers Checklist
Autism Checklist
What You Should Know About Autism Spectrum Disorders

1. Biological basis
   
   Biological basis of autism. Because of its relative inaccessibility, researchers have only recently been able to study the brain systematically.
2. Hereditary-Genetic cause of autism
   
   Hereditary-Genetic cause of autism. Everyone knows genetics play a large part in our lives: what color hair you will have, how tall youwill be, the color of your skin, basically your overall appearance.
3. Pregnancy Birth Injury and Autism
   
   Pregnancy Birth Injury and Autism
4. Theory Of Mind and Autism
   
   “Theory of mind” is a fairly new hypothesis, which states that autistic individuals are unaware that other people have different thoughts and feelings than they do. Another hypothesis, “weak central coherence,” posits that autistic individuals process individual details rather than the overall picture, or context, of an event. More research is needed to determine whether either of theories, neither of these theories, or a combination of these theories is correct.