What causes Asperger's?

Asperger’s symptoms start to show very early in life and remain throughout, most parents describing the condition as developing between 18 months and 3 years, although the average age for diagnosis is 5 years old.

There is almost certainly a whole range of different underlying causes. For some, the cause may be in their genes. One genetic weakness may lead to others, which then are prone to further external and environmental agents that might do damage.

Sometimes, no genetic weakness is evident and the disorder may be due entirely to environmental causes, including toxic substances, infections, allergies and drug effects. The truth is we don’t know enough. Much more scientific work needs to be done in order to untangle the mysteries of Asperger’s and autism.