CLAIM THREE:
The Genetic Basis for Autism is Weak
The author of this claim is Mark Blaxill, editor-at-large of the website; he claims that the genetic basis for autism is very weak. Through multiple articles he goes on to reiterate this claim by first pointing out the lead authors and their motives. He goes on to explain how one of the common variants determined in genetic research on autism is not that common, occurring 65% of the time in autistic children compared to 61% of the time in non-autistic children.
He goes on to state that mock the research articles that have found any genetic link to autism through a particular type of inherited mutation, a copy number variant, due to their lack of ability to pinpoint an exact gene to the disorder.
He goes on to state that mock the research articles that have found any genetic link to autism through a particular type of inherited mutation, a copy number variant, due to their lack of ability to pinpoint an exact gene to the disorder.
Debunking This Claim:
Blaxill spends a great portion of his articles critiquing the motives and lack of concrete answers of the scientists conducting genetic research on autism. However, a myriad of scientific studies have been conducted and have established a clear genetic component of ASD.
An article in Experimental Neurobiology states that ASD is a complex behavioral disorder that has a strong genetic influence. However, researchers have not been able to link autism to a single gene mutation of chromosomal abnormality such as other disorders, which suggests that multiple factors may play a role in the development of the disorder. Still, that does not entail that there is no genetic basis for autism. For example, one study in Molecular Psychiatry found through twin studies on AD that the disorder has a heritability of greater than 90%, indicating a strong genetic basis. Another article, after conducting family and twin studies, also cited a genetic component to ASD.
The author, Blaxill spends most of his time offering biased viewpoints on the genetic research conducted thus far and moving his reader's attention from the extensive genetic research to state that this research is weak and not robust enough. However, multiple studies have suggested a strong genetic component to ASD and have not refuted that other factors may contribute to the development of the disorder as well. Yet, as far as we know, autism is not caused by a mutation in a single gene or chromosome, and this means researchers cannot offer a clear, definitive answer when asked to provide an explicit genetic cause of autism. However, this does not mean there is no genetic basis, which is essentially what Blaxill is trying to imply in an attempt to garner support for solely an environmentally-caused development of autism (aka vaccinations).
An article in Experimental Neurobiology states that ASD is a complex behavioral disorder that has a strong genetic influence. However, researchers have not been able to link autism to a single gene mutation of chromosomal abnormality such as other disorders, which suggests that multiple factors may play a role in the development of the disorder. Still, that does not entail that there is no genetic basis for autism. For example, one study in Molecular Psychiatry found through twin studies on AD that the disorder has a heritability of greater than 90%, indicating a strong genetic basis. Another article, after conducting family and twin studies, also cited a genetic component to ASD.
The author, Blaxill spends most of his time offering biased viewpoints on the genetic research conducted thus far and moving his reader's attention from the extensive genetic research to state that this research is weak and not robust enough. However, multiple studies have suggested a strong genetic component to ASD and have not refuted that other factors may contribute to the development of the disorder as well. Yet, as far as we know, autism is not caused by a mutation in a single gene or chromosome, and this means researchers cannot offer a clear, definitive answer when asked to provide an explicit genetic cause of autism. However, this does not mean there is no genetic basis, which is essentially what Blaxill is trying to imply in an attempt to garner support for solely an environmentally-caused development of autism (aka vaccinations).