Can events that occurred during pregnancy have caused my child’s
autism? “Got Questions?” is a new weekly feature on our blog to
address the desire for scientific understanding in our
community. We received over 3000 responses when we asked what
science questions were on your mind. We answered a few here and
the Autism Speaks Science staff will address the other themes we
received in this weekly post. Many families have emailed us and
asked what exposures in pregnancy result in an increased risk
for an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. The answer is not
simple. No single environmental factor or single gene is
responsible for causing ASD. Instead research suggests that a
combination of multiple genetic and environmental factors lead
to the multiple symptoms of autism. By studying large
populations, research on environmental exposures in autism has
identified some exposures that increase the risk of autism in
specific populations. Interestingly, these exposures have been
linked to poor neurological outcome in