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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffAutism affects children of all races and nationalities, but certain factors are known to increase a child's risk. They include:
- Your child's sex. Studies show that boys are three to four times more likely to develop autism than girls are.
- Family history. Families who have one child with autism have an increased risk of having another child with the disorder. It's also not uncommon for the parents or relatives of an autistic child to have minor problems with social or communication skills themselves or to engage in certain autistic behaviors.
- Other disorders. Children with certain medical conditions have a higher than normal risk of having autism. These conditions include fragile X syndrome, an inherited disorder that causes intellectual impairment; tuberous sclerosis, a condition in which benign tumors develop in the brain; the neurological disorder Tourette syndrome; and epilepsy, which causes seizures.
- Paternal age. Research increasingly suggests that having an older father may increase a child's risk of autism. One large study showed that children born to men 40 years or older were almost six times more likely to have autism spectrum disorder than were children born to men younger than 30 years. Maternal age, on the other hand, seems to have little effect on autism risk.
