The team found that mothers passed only half of their structural variants on to their autistic children—a frequency that would be expected by chance alone—suggesting that variants inherited from mothers were not associated with autism. But surprisingly, fathers did pass on substantially more than 50% of their variants.

Can autism be passed from mother to son?

They found that children with autism inherit about twice as many rare variants from their fathers as would be expected by chance. By contrast, rare variants inherited from mothers make a minimal contribution to autism, they found.

Is autism genetic or hereditary?

Study Finds 80% Risk From Inherited Genes. A new study looking at autism in 5 countries found that 80 percent of autism risk can be traced to inherited genes rather than environmental factors and random mutations.

Who carries the gene for autism?

Researchers have assumed that mothers are more likely to pass on autism-promoting gene variants. Thats because the rate of autism in women is much lower than that in men, and it is thought that women can carry the same genetic risk factors without having any signs of autism.

Is milk bad for autism?

Previous preliminary research studies have suggested that a diet devoid of milk and dairy products might be useful for some people on the autism spectrum in reducing certain types of behaviours or other symptoms that can affect quality of life.