utism but do not cause it. For reasons that are still unclear, about 20 to 30 percent of people with autism also develop epilepsy by the time they reach adulthood. While people with schizophrenia may show some autistic-like behavior, their symptoms usually do not appear until the late teens or early adulthood. Most people with schizophrenia also have hallucinations and delusions, which are not found in autism. Recent studies strongly suggest that some people have a genetic predisposition to autism. Scientists estimate that,in families with one autistic child, the risk of having a second child with the disorder is approximately five percent, or one in 20, which is greater than the risk for the general population. Researchers are looking for clues about which genes contribute to this increased susceptibility. In some cases, parents and other relatives of an autistic person show mild social, communicative, or repetitive behaviors that allow them to function normally, but appear linked to autism. Evidence also suggests that some affective, or emotional, disorders such as manic depression, occur more frequently than average in families of people with autism. Symptoms in many children with autism improve with intervention or as the children mature. Some people with autism eventually lead normal or near-normal lives. However, reports from parents of children with autism indicate that some children's language skills regress early in life,usually before age three. This regression often seems linked to epilepsy or seizure-like brain activity. Adolescence also worsens behavior problems in some children with autism, who may become depressed or increasingly unmanageable. There is no cure for autism at present. Therapies, or interventions, are designed to remedy specific symptoms in each individual. The best-studied therapies include educational/behavioral and medical interventions. Although these interventions do not cure autism, they often bring...
