Third Paragraph

Question 1

Third paragraph points

Answer 1

Research has
For example
Maternal infections and inflammation
Furthermore, a systematic review
However, Lam et al.,
It used to be thought
This term was used to
However, over the years
Nevertheless,

Question 2

Research has…

Answer 2

…identified associations between environmental factors, which may contribute to the development of ASD

Question 3

For example…

Answer 3

…prenatal exposure to certain medications such as antidepressants and antiepileptics, pre term birth and gestation size have all been linked to an increased risk of ASD (Lyall et al., 2019)

Question 4

Maternal infections and inflammation…

Answer 4

…during pregnancy have been linked to altered foetal brain development associated with ASD (Han et al., 2021)

Question 5

Furthermore…

Answer 5

…a recent systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that exposure to certain pollutants were associated with an increased risk of developing ASD, via the disruption of cellular metabolism through mechanisms such as breathing cell membranes and DNA damage (Duque-Cartagena et al., 2014)

Question 6

However, Lam Et Al (2016)…

Answer 6

…in a meta-analysis, concluded that there was “limited evidence of toxicity” linking air pollution exposure to ASD diagnosis, because the findings where hindered by data limitations and the influence of chance, bias and confounding factors cannot be ruled out out with reasonable confidence.

Question 7

It used to be thought…

Answer 7

…that parenting had a direct influence on the development of autism and the term ‘refrigerator mother’ by Kanner (1943) became popular.

Question 8

This term was used to…

Answer 8

…describe a lack of parental warmth and insecure parent-child relationships, impacting on the child’s social and emotional functioning (Crowell at al., 2019)

Question 9

However, over the years…

Answer 9

…this term was scrutinised and the idea that poor parenting caused ASD was rejected (Crowell et al., 2019)

Question 10

Nevertheless, more recent research has recognised that…

Answer 10

…whilst parents do not cause ASD, the difficulties in relating socially can impair parent-child relationships and the added stress of parenting a child with ASD can have a negative effect on the child’s relationship and in turn, developmental outcomes for the child (Crowell et al., 2019)