Big announcements this week in the UK autism world. The National Autistic Society have declared that they are stating definitively that autism is genetic and that we can all stop looking for answers elsewhere. The question, they say, is resolved.
This statement has been very positively received, with many sharing it and heralding it as a great step forward. But is the science really as cut and dried as this would suggest? One thing is clear, they are not making this announcement because of a scientific breakthrough. There has not been a new development in autism research which has finally resolved the issue of what causes autism. They have based this on a review of 83 different research studies, but the outcomes of these studies are nowhere near as straightforward as the statement suggests.
In this episode, Naomi and Dani ask some questions about what ‘autism is genetic’ really means - and why the NAS are saying it now. What is meant by autism, in this context, and what is meant by ‘genetic’? It’s an area that is rife with misinformation and misunderstandings - does the NAS statement resolve any of that? Where do we go from here?
Here are a few more links to topics discussed in this episode.
Journal articles about the heritability of vitiligo and the familial recurrence.
A Substack article by Robert Wright explaining the importance of gene/environment interactions
The National Autistic Society News page and their What Causes Autism? page with a tab for Article Sources (found towards the bottom of the page)
Link to the BPS Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia document, which provides a succinct summary of the literature referred to in the episode around inequality, poverty, racism and discrimination (Section 6.3, pg. 44)
