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Depending who you ask, vaccines as a cause of autism is off the table. 

With that aside for debate, here are 5 other things that scientists are still investigating as a cause:

1. Genetics. Kids with autism have a 1 in 20 changes of having a younger sibling with autism. and with twins, there’s a 90% chance that a twin will have autism if the other twin has it. But these genes might not necessarily be hereditary. Sometimes it’s just a mutated gene. Kids with a mutation on chromosome 17 have 14X the chance of developing autism.

2. Pesticides. this is a big one for me. in an article on MSNBC, the scientist basically says that if a baby was already “born with a vulnerability to autism,” pesticide exposure might make it activate.

3. Pharmaceuticals: Remember Thalidomide – the drug that caused all those birth defects in the 1950s? RXs like that (and valproic acid) in utero seem to increase the risk of autism.

4. Parental age. this is a bit scary. I was 37 when I had my son and now that I’m 40, my risks get even greater for everything – but especially autism – if I want to have another baby. Women who are 40 have a 50% greater risk of having a baby with autism. It’s likely due to the mutations in the egg (or even sperm).

5. Poor brain development. Problems with the cerebellum, the cerebral cortex, or even just the dopamine and serotonin levels, can cause autistic symptoms.

Here’s the piece I read on MSNBC:

msnbc.msn.com/id/41028118/ns/health-mental_health/