Autism-World

Q: I am beginning to think there is a link. Most autistic children that I see have older/slim mothers that breastfeed. Could there be something the mother is doing/not doing to unintentionally cause their child to be autistic. I see some mothers worrying about their bodies after the pregnancy.

Could the infant not be getting enough fat in their diet which is very important for brain development. I formula fed both my children and I have not had any problems with chronic illnesses or mental dysfunction.Has anyone seen any research?

Answer:

I doubt there’s a link to breastfeeding or the mother’s age causing autism. I have 3 kids and they all were breastfed. My youngest was born when I was 30. No autism. One of my nephew’s, on the other hand, was bottle fed and born to a young mother (around 18 or so). And he’s autistic. I believe the “rise” in autism is due to the fact that not all mental deficiencies are being lumped into one category any more. Autism is being recognized in it’s own separate category with it’s own unique symptoms, so we can now clearly see that there’s a difference between a child with autism and, say, a child with DOWN Syndrome.

Both parents of my nephew with autism were young, and she has a second son who is not autistic.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 9:57 pm and is filed under Ask and answer, What Causes Autism.