The Medical Freedom Channel

“As a newborn, Grace Goad was mesmerized by the mobile that spun above her crib. At 8 months, she stopped saying the 12 words she knew. And as soon as her feet could carry her, she ran in the same circular pattern around the house. When doctors diagnosed her with autism at age 2 in 1997, it was the first time the odd behaviors made any sense. ‘She’s always been in her own world,’ said Grace’s mother, Leisa Hammett. Researchers at Vanderbilt are one step closer to unraveling the mystery of why this disorder occurs, after identifying a gene mutation that more than doubles the risk of developing autism. ‘We’ve found a gene that increases vulnerability. It doesn’t cause autism,’ said Dr. Pat Levitt, director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. ‘No single gene causes it. It’s estimated that between five and 20 genes will play a part.’” (10/31/06)