North Wales Assembly Member and Chair of the Cross Party Autism Group, Mark Isherwood AM, has spoken at an Assembly event today aimed at raising awareness of Fragile X Syndrome. Fragile X Syndrome [FXS] is the most common known cause of inherited learning difficulty, affecting one in 4,000 men or boys and one in 6,000 women or girls, and can be diagnosed with a blood test.
People with Fragile X can have mild to severe learning disabilities. Their speech and language development may be delayed and they can experience anxiety in social situations.
Behaviours associated with Fragile X can include a short attention span, impulsiveness, over-activity, dislike of eye contact, difficulty in relating to other people, the need for a familiar routine, repetitive speech and hand flapping or hand biting.
Some of these are similar to difficulties that people with autism may experience. However, autism and Fragile X syndrome are two different diagnoses. Some people are diagnosed with both. At today’s event attended by families from across Wales affected by Fragile X Syndrome, Mr Isherwood said:
“Autism is a developmental condition. It is not a learning disability or a mental health issue although people with autism may have these co-morbid conditions too. Many of the behaviours associated with FXS are autistic-like.
“About one third of people with FXS have enough of these characteristics to meet the criteria to be diagnosed with autism, as well as FXS. This proportion of people with FXS who have Autism accounts for approximately 2-6% of all cases of Autism, making FXS the most common, known single-gene cause of the condition. Not everyone with FXS has autism, though many will have at least some autistic-like behaviour.
“People with Autism who have FXS tend to be more socially responsive (for instance, show more social smiling) but show more repetitive behaviours, when compared to people with Autism who do not have FXS. Therefore, even when an individual is diagnosed with Autism as well as FXS, it is important to understand their genetic condition.
“Autism is becoming ever more widely recognised and there is a fast-growing amount of evidence about different interventions to improve people's quality of life, which the Fragile X community can benefit from. The journey in calling for an Autism Act for Wales has been central to the work of the Cross Party Autism Group.
“The National Assembly for Wales elections will be upon us in less than two months and there is no better time for an Autism Act and the issues that face people on the autism spectrum, their friends and families to be on the agenda of all political parties in Wales. Progress has been made – but there’s still an awful lot to do.”