Familial Autism Genes

Abstract

Autism is a common developmental disorder resulting from a lack or failure of different cognitive skills such as social interaction, communication and language disorders. In addition, stereotyped behaviors, limited activity and limited interests are observed in people with autism. An autistic person between 0-3 years shows these deficient, inadequate and different aspects. Autistic disorder is diagnosed according to DSM-IV criterias. The incidence is four times higher in boys than in girls. It is a lifelong disorder that cannot be cured completely. The incidence is around 1.7% in society. Although the etiology of autism is unknown, many studies have shown that genetic factor plays a major role. The rate of autism in the sibling of an individual with autism is between 10-20%. This rate is well above the prevalence in society. Many studies conducted with the families of individuals with autism showed symptoms of autism characterized by problems in communication skills, introversion, language and speech problems in family members. In this review, familial autism genes will be discussed and the effects of heredity on autism will be discussed.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.