What causes autism

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is it damage to the brain or damage to the nervous system, Im really trying to understand what causes autism

It is basically brain connections that don't make it.

There are many causes of autism.

Autism could come with other conditions, or it might be by itself.

In fact, there are some people who call autism "the autisms."

This is why, I believe, there will never be a "cure" for it.

I believe the brain is wired differently? This could be genetic or something else. It's not damage as such, just a difference.

I feel a situation where one has anoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) at birth could lead to autism. I know of a person like that. That would be "damage."

In other instances, though, "difference" might apply more than "damage."

So...it really depends on the individual.

Nobody knows for certain, although perhaps hundreds of different "causes" have been put forth at one time or another.

My cousins eldest son said that when he was born it was a difficult birth as he had to be reduced.

From my understanding it is usually a recessive-genetic thing: think blue eyes or red hair, it's in a person's DNA. Science doesn't fully understand it, but, people who have done real research, unlike groups like Autism Speaks, have found that you can't cure a person of it, but you might be able to treat some of the symptoms.

I hope that makes sense?

DIVAIR

It's neither, it's mutation. DNA gets damaged and causes recessive traits in organisms: one of the biggest causes of damage is radiation:

In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:

Electromagnetic radiation, such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma radiation (γ)

Particle radiation, such as alpha radiation (α), beta radiation (β),proton radiation and neutron radiation (particles of non-zero rest energy)

Try to think of it like The Incredible Hulk: Dr. Banner's DNA was mutated by Gamma Rays... Not that it actually works that way though because Gamma Rays are very, very deadly. It's the stray particles that do very minor damage, but do change the DNA.

I hope that helps,

DIVAIR

Autism is not brain damage. It's a difference in brain structure. The cortex of an autistic brain is 10 percent thicker than that of the cortex of a typical brain.

In my case it appears to be passed down the genetic line to mostly women in the past three or more generations. I imagine we have a neurology type that is uncommon and so it's difficult to navigate today's common waters. I hope my (ASD-like) daughter does much better than me, in the meantime I (ASD) have done much better than her grandmother (ASD-like) who did much better than her great-grandmother (ASD-like). Her great-grandfather (I did not know personally, but would suspect) did well enough as eccentricity was acceptable in a male scientist back then. I'm finishing the book Neurotribes and although it's a long and sometimes dense read (or listen), it's very enlightening about this.

First, it is not brain damage, but natural variation. It is a cognitive deficit that results in social communication problems and repetitive behavior. We simply don't see the world the way NTs do. There are also comorbidities related to the deficit, but they don't define autism.

The cause is more complex. It can be genetic or environmental. It is not a single cause and most likely several factor where autism is an emergent property of those factors. It is most likely that there can be a large variety of combinations that result in what is called autism.

Autism is caused by a single genetic mutation not yet revealed.

The Spectrum isn't just one "condition"--it is more complicated than that. The DSM-5 Autism Spectrum encompasses a number of previously identified conditions.

But, the Spectrum is apparently a lot more complicated than even that. SPARK is exploring the genetic basis of Autism. They report:

Note that they are talking about genetic differences "related to autism". My understanding is they are not saying you need all 150 of those genes to have Autism but rather that if you have any one of those genes then you might have autism...or not. And they have not progressed far enough to know if genetics is the only cause of Autism.

The Spectrum might really include hundreds of genetically different "conditions" and different Autistics might very likely "have" different Autisms.

P.S. The Autism I "have" is in the part of the Autism Specturm formerly known as Asperger's Syndrome. Speaking solely for myself, and whatever specific color of Autism I have, I think I have a difference, not a disorder, and the issues I have encountered can largely be attributed to being stuck in a world crafted to the taste of NTs. There is absolutely no reason to believe that your experience must have been the same as mine.

There are probably many types of autism. The brain has a limited no of ways to express that something is not working properly, so that`s possibly why there`s the overlap in symptoms.

Nobody really knows, there are studies that suggest things that have been mentioned in this thread but nothing conclusive.

I think it's just natural variation, a difference rather than a disorder. I really want to scan people's brains and find out though!