Debunking the ‘Autism Is Genetic’ Narrative

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of articles by James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D., on the autism epidemic. The series will dismantle the denialist narratives that have dominated public discourse, replacing them with a rigorous, testable and biologically coherent framework. Read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.

For years, the dominant narrative within the academic autism research community has framed autism as a largely genetic condition — heritable, polygenic, and largely inevitable.

This view has been reinforced by high-profile studies, press releases from research universities, and public messaging by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

But as the prevalence of autism continues to climb far beyond what genetic drift or selection pressure could plausibly account for, the credibility of this paradigm has quietly eroded.