Autism Genes Often Differ, Even Among Siblings

News from Disability Scoop by Michelle Diament: Adding to confusion about the roots of autism, new research suggests that varying genes are often responsible for the disorder even among siblings who share a diagnosis.

Kids who have an older brother or sister with autism are known to be at higher risk for the developmental disorder and scientists have thought this heightened occurrence was due to shared genes.

But a study released Monday throws a kink in that theory. After sequencing the whole genomes of individuals from dozens of families — each with at least two children on the spectrum — researchers found that less than a third of affected siblings shared the same autism-associated gene variations.

Full news article from Disability Scoop: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/01/27/autism-genes-differ-siblings/19997/

Go to the study: http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v21/n2/full/nm.3792.html