AP21862

Science Summary

It has been noticed that many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) also have language impairment. It's usually based on the family's history, in the first molecular study of families it was observed that two thirds of individuals diagnosed with ASD also are diagnosed language impairment which can range from mild to no verbal behavior. Researchers tested whether specific language impairment and language-impaired autism cases are caused by the same genetic variants by examining the results of 79 family histories which have both disorders. Researchers used a genome-wide scan and a series of language tests to identify a single cause for both issues. Christopher W. Bartlett, PhD, principal investigator in the Battelle Center for Mathematical Medicine at Nationwide Children's and lead author of the study said that a genetic cause of language impairments may explain why some families have both ASD and language impairments and others don't. This statement raises the question of whether language impairment is a trait of ASD or not. Language problems and ASD have many similar genetic factors that are related to language impairment and language impairment autism. These different genetic factors are relevant to both disorders. The behavioral genetics study (published in Biological Psychiatry) shows that some genes active in language impairment also appear in ASD which shows that there is a link between ASD and language impairments. I believe there is further research necessary in order to find out the genetic link between these two disorders. further research can also answer many people's questions about the link between ASD and language impairments.

References: Nationwide Children's Hospital. (2013, October 30). Scientist identify genetic link between language impairment, autism. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 19, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131030092904.htm

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