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What causes Autism? That’s what parents, doctors, and researchers want to know. Thanks to a new study we may be closer to answers. Researchers at Cornell University have found that “children growing up in the rainiest or snowiest areas of the country seem to have a higher risk for autism than children living in drier climates.”

The latest thinking is that precipitation increases exposure to mercury and other dangerous neurotoxins through deposition in the environment. It’s suspected that this exposure to outdoor and indoor neurotoxins triggers a genetic predisposition to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Recent studies have also shown increases in mercury levels in Americans in recent years, which support this latest reports’ findings.

To read more about this study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, click here.

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Autism disorders affect roughly 1 in 150 U.S. children.  A child is diagnosed with autism in the United States every 20 minutes.  Fresh news brings hope to those statistics. 

Researchers have “identified two separate genetic defects linked to autism, one that directly causes the disorder in about 1% of cases and a second that may play a role in a much larger percentage of patients by increasing their susceptibility to environmental or other genetic influences.”

Thanks to the Internet, parents have thousands of resources to look at for education about “autism spectrum disorders” and support, like blogs written by real parents journaling about their experiences parenting children with autism disorders. 

To learn more about autism or to get involved with autism awareness initiatives, go to Autism Speaks.