Autism Soccer: Heritage

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Can Autism be Genetically Investigated?

Scientists are looking at the genetic code to identify the patterns and causes for autism.

Almost everything that defines who we are is rooted in our genetics. If you have read stories about identical twins separated at birth, you’ll find a similar pattern in their behavior and certain life decisions. Taking out the fact that each person life's conditions are different, there’s an obvious pattern in genetics that can be traced down. Now, autism is still clouded with some uncertainty about its origins and occurrence, but can autism be genetically investigated?

Getting back to the identical twins referent, there’s a lot of information about their genes that is related to the investigation of autism. It happens that if one of them has autism, the chances of the other to having this condition as well are higher. Since genes are shared among identical twins, this evidence indicates that the roots of the spectrum have a lot to do with the genetic.

Autism is not such an uncommon disorder. According to this study, 1 out of 68 people has it. The chances of having other children with it increase to 15% and it doubles if there are two or more children. Of course, this doesn’t mean autism can't occur out of anywhere. DNA always changes over generations, which means that determined new genes or the lack of them can easily lead to an autistic newborn, even if the family didn't have autism records before.

Most of this research was done in groups of less than 100 families who have at least one autistic child, which means these results require a closer look and further investigation. But the truth is the concern shouldn’t be if autism can be studied genetically, but to find tangible solutions for autistic individuals to be successfully understood in society.

It is clear that genetics play a role in the autism puzzle, and given that information, scientists can continue to unravel the mysteries that hide behind it. As for now, the labor of helping autistic individuals to accomplish their goals remains. Autism Soccer is continuously trying to support the development of autistic children: they have the facilities ready, a staff of professionals and the good will to help. Reach for them and see it yourself!

This condition has been studied for years, but in the last decade genetics are beginning to be a crucial key to scientist.

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Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Eye Contact in Autistic Children: Its Relationship with Genetics

According to studies, the root of autistic's tendency to avoid eye contact could be in genetics.

Most of the traits that are considered part of the Autism Disorder are associated with social behavior and communication skills. Among the signs of ASD, kids often show difficulties in learning, attention deficit, anxiety disorder or repetition of words and behaviors. But curiously, there’s one of these traits that could have a genetic explanation: the tendency to avoid eye contact.

A study suggests that genetics could provide an answer for this tendency, which could lead to believe that social gaze patterns are heritable. However, these researchers did not look at autistic children. The study was based on neurotypical identical twins, and to their surprise, they found out twins share similar gaze patterns when watching videos or by interacting in general. But still, these results must be compared to cases of identical twins with autism to confirm this theory.

This study’s been out for long, and the first results were presented at the 2016 International Meeting for Autism Research in Baltimore. According to John Constantino, these results are “absolutely striking,” as they might unravel some secrets behind autism and ways of identifying it early. Studies such as these are of vital importance to understand more about this disorder, as many things are not completely understood yet. Gaze is only the first step into comprehending traits that define the way autistic people communicate.

There’s much to be done on the subject, but researchers continue to unravel mysteries behind autism as time passes. As for today, it remains as the main goal to continually look for ways to help those with the disorder. If you’re willing to support this cause or need assistance for your children, Autism Soccer might be the best option to help them out. Access their website, and you’ll see why!