Decoding Autism

THE SOURCE: “Autism and the Technical Mind” by Simon Baron-Cohen, in Scientific American, Nov. 2012.

Why do kids develop autism? Before the 1980s, scientists blamed environmental factors, particularly inattentive and unloving mothers. Now they know better: Autism has a lot to do with genetics—and, perhaps, testosterone levels.

Simon Baron-Cohen, a professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge in England, says the hereditary details remain murky, but researchers are uncovering some surprising patterns in children with autism and the families they come from.

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