By Olivia Maximo

I came across an article on NPR’s website about the other children, the siblings of Autistic children. This study works in relation to the findings of several studies that have found that approximately 11 percent of families with one Autistic child also have a second child on the spectrum.

The study, “Sibling Recurrence and the Genetic Epidemiology of Autism” published in the American Journal of Psychology found that Autism as well as Autistic traits may run in the family. This supports the idea that Autism is caused by genetics. To this day, researchers cannot pinpoint the cause of Autism, however studies like this one can help with treatment and offer insight into the families and the traits within families affected by Autism.

This study also found an interesting similarity in the sibling of Autistic children: in their youth, 20 percent of them had been diagnosed with a speech or language delay. Those speech problems were those common in Autistic children such as lack of intonation, a failure to emphasize important words, or a disjointed delivery of sentences.