7 Healthcast: Autism study

Tina Brown, parent
"Promise, promise, a future for our children."

Tina Brown clings to research that provides new hope for her family and others like her. Her sons, 5 1/2 year old Dalton and three-year old Dylan, have autism spectrum disorders, with Dalton's autism being more severe. She sees promise in new research from the children's hospital of Philadelphia linking genetics to autism.

Tina Brown, parent
"Future for other families who are about to experience what we've been experiencing for the past five years."

Researchers tested thousands of children from around the country. Under lead researcher Dr. Hakon Hakonarson, they found a particular genetic mutation carried by about 65-percent of children with autism. Scientists say the gene variant affects the area of the brain common in children with the disorder.

Dr. Hakon Hakonarson, pediatric pulmonologist
"In my view, this is really going to open up the field now and it tells you the cause of autism is dominantly genetic."

Doctors say this genetic link is important for families who already have a child with autism.

Dr. Hakon Hakonarson, pediatric pulmonologist
"If you have a family who already has a child with autism, the risk of another child being born with autism in that family is substantially increased. There is about 30 to 40 percent."

The new research gives new hope to families like the browns, who have waited for doctors to discover what causes autism so they can one day find a cure.

Tina Brown, parent
"It means my child has the chance of an active, productive, independent life, that's what it means."

This new genetic discovery could open the door to predicting and preventing the disorder altogether.

Researchers believe down the road, they'll be able to test parents for the genetic variation ... Even find the mutation in an unborn child.

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