Scientific American
Better genetic insights can help support people across the spectrum
Advertisement
When I started my pediatric genetic practice over 20 years ago, I was frustrated by constantly having to tell families and patients that I couldn’t answer many of their questions about autism and what the future held for them. What were the causes of their child’s particular behavioral and medical challenges? Would their child talk? Have seizures? What I did know was that research was the key to unlocking the mysteries of a remarkably heterogeneous disorder that affects more than five million Americans and has no FDA-approved treatments. Now, thanks in large part to the impact of genetic research, those answers are starting to come into focus.