Autism is linked to high levels of testosterone in the womb, according to a study published today in the British Journal of Psychology. The findings are significant because they bring the possibility of a prenatal test for the disorder.
Researchers at Cambridge University followed hundreds of children for more than eight years after their mothers had an amniocentesis while pregnant. They found that when high testosterone levels were present in the womb, the children were likely to exhibit traits common to those with autism such as a failure to make eye contact and difficulty socializing.
The link with testosterone was examined due to the fact that autism is four times more likely to occur in boys than girls, reports The (U.K.) Guardian.
One of the researchers in this study is Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, the person responsible for the fallacious idea that people labeled with autism have “mind-blindness.” I want to see more than a coincidence of levels of testosterone and whatever they think they are referring to when they say “autism.” I worry that the idea of prenatal testing for levels of testosterone will lead to prospective mothers being pressured to abort, just as amniocentesis has lead to a marked reduction in the number of children being born with Down Syndrome. We presume too much.