Background:
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition involving persistent challenges with social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behavior. While autism is considered a lifelong disorder, the degree of impairment in functioning because of these challenges varies between individuals with autism. (1)
Design:
A Cross-Sectional Study conducted in Syria.
Methods:
The study sample included 374 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, collected from centers in Syria, they were divided into two groups, the first group is the patient group (271) children, representing 72.5% of the study sample, while the second group is the control group (103) patients, or 27.5% of the study sample.
Results:
After studying environmental and family risk factors for autism spectrum disorder on a sample of 374 children, 271 with autism, 103 without, the results were the following: There is a statistically significant relationship between the incidence of autism spectrum disorder, and the gender of the child, the season of the child's birth, Consanguinity between the parents, the child's arrangement in the family, the gestational age at birth, the occurrence of problems at birth, and the father's smoking.