I really feel for kids with developmental disorders, such as autism.  I have a relative who has it
That's too bad!  There are so  many different kinds of developmental disorders - language disorders, learning disorders, motor disorders as well as autism. It's really sad!
Yes, and I found that autism is 4 or 5 times more likely to occur in boys than girls
Yes, and it's typically noticed in the first two or three years of the child's life.
And it is reported that it effects over 24 million people across the world
Genetics is a strong component in developmental disorders.
Yes it is.  It has also been theorized that things such as vaccines and drugs use during pregnancy can influence it
growth restriction, and autoimmune diseases. Controversies surround other proposed environmental causes; for example, the vaccine hypothesis, which has been disproven. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering connections and organization of nerve cells and their synapses. How this occurs is not well understood. In the DSM-5, autism and less severe forms of the condition, including Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), have been combined into the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Early behavioral interventions
Developmental disorder
Developmental disorders comprise a group of psychiatric conditions originating in childhood that involve serious impairment in different areas. There are several ways of using this term. The most narrow concept is used in the category "Specific Disorders of Psychological Development" in the ICD-10. These disorders comprise developmental language disorder, learning disorders, motor disorders and autism spectrum disorders. In broader definitions ADHD is included, and the term used is neurodevelopmental disorders. Yet others include antisocial behavior and schizophrenia that begins in childhood and continues through life. However