More Than a Brain Injury

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1 in 44 children in the United States.1 While genetic factors have long been implicated in ASD,2 the complex interactions of environmental and genetic influences remain unclear. Developing a detailed understanding of ASD risk factors is important to allow prompt and early diagnosis, to provide evidence-based prognostic information to families, and to increase our understanding of underlying brain mechanisms contributing to ASD features. Pediatric ischemic stroke is similarly heterogeneous and potentially debilitating—albeit far less common than ASD with an incidence of 5.6 per 100,000.3 While it is well established that pediatric ischemic stroke is a risk factor for future neurologic conditions, including epilepsy4 and cerebral palsy,5 both of which are independently associated with ASD, the risk of ASD after pediatric ischemic stroke was previously unknown.