Does Autism Cluster Geographically? A Research Note

Abstract

We report an apparent cluster of seven cases of autism spectrum disorder in a network of a few streets in the UK. Clusters do not easily fit the dominant genetic theory of autism. Whilst this could in principle represent the effect of an environmental pathogen, we consider an alternative interpretation: that autism spectrum conditions may be so much more common than was previously thought that finding seven cases in an area of a few streets is not necessarily higher than one would expect from chance. We conclude by highlighting the need for an agewise epidemiological study of autism spectrum conditions, since this cluster is only higher than expected when compared with expected rates for under-5s rather than under-18s.