ASD Symptoms in Parents

Autistic Spectrum Disorder is one of many neurodevelopmental disorders that can severely impact daily functioning, especially when it requires interactions with non-ASD individuals. While the ongoing understanding of the disorder still needs improvement, through many clinical trials and scientific reasoning, there can be a better understanding of the way the disorder is treated. The expansion of our understanding across the ASD spectrum helps clarify the diverse nature of ASD. One of those ways to pinpoint the specific causes of the disorder. If those risk factors are treated beforehand, this can help limit the risk of ASD development in later stages of life. Many researchers have been specifically focusing on the factors that lead to deficits in social interactions and functioning. While many communities like to make assumptions, scientific analysis may point in a different direction than what is the typical norm. 

ASD is commonly known to have a variety of causes, also known as a multifactorial disease. There isn’t one direct cause for the condition; ASD is the result of many factors at play, which result in this disorder. While this may complicate the treatment, it does align with the diversified nature of ASD. Nevertheless, it has been reported that 83% of the causes are genetically related, where possibly an altered gene is passed down from the parents to their offspring. That leaves around 17% with respect to the environmental factors, though they are still significant. The environment, in this case meaning the behavior of the parent that can influence the development of the offspring, has the highest influence during pregnancy, the time right before and after birth, and the early postnatal period. This has undoubtedly led to findings that would be of interest in investigating the prevalence of the characteristics within a parent that could be of concern. 

Indeed, researchers have identified a set of traits similar to autism called the broad autism phenotype (BAP). There is reason to believe that this set of factors can be responsible for increasing the risk of ASD in their child. While many traits that BAP encompasses are commonly associated with ASD patients, BAP fails to meet the full criteria in order to be officially classified as ASD. Therefore, it is possible that someone who has AS characteristics does not have the disorder. Accordingly, parents without the disorder could have a child with true ASD in combination with some genetic factors, since one factor alone often isn’t sufficient to develop this complicated and multifaceted condition. This allows for another direction which treatment can take; by doing studies on the parents, there can be a better understanding about how to better prevent the apparent inheritance, whether through environmental and genetic means, that is particularly responsible. Specifically, there is a large focus on early intervention strategies, where one possible method is to identify future mothers who exhibit a form of BAP and work from there.

Regardless of the finding about the role that BAP plays, just like how there are almost no ASD who exhibit the same, the same is true about the degree of BAP prevalence which results in an autistic child. The percentage of BAP traits can range anywhere from 2% to 50%. This serves as another reminder that when identifying concurrent and future cases of ASD, it is crucial to consider the multitude of symptoms that could be there. Granted, BAP still serves as another avenue in the “inheritance and manifestation of ASD” in children. When relating BAP to mental health in the parental units of ASD children, even though depression and anxiety can be in high amounts, they aren’t necessarily always a result of BAP, meaning that some symptoms of ASD may point to alternate conditions.