Abstract Autism is a serious disorder that has the potential to disrupt the success of people living with it. This report shall set out to explore various aspects regarding this disorder. To this end, an overview of the symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment shall be offered. This shall aim at expanding our understanding regarding this disorder so as to enable us to be better prepared to handle it whenever the need arises. Introduction Autism has been noted to be among the most prevalent childhood psychiatric disorder. Kuder (2003) denotes that in the USA, an estimated 2.1% of the population aged between 8 and 17 is affected by autism in its various forms. Autism is manifested by varied behavior but it is chiefly characterized by inability to communicate, lingual deficits, lack of a sustained attention, low level of activity, temper tantrums, sleep disturbance, aggression inadequate motor control and other non-compliant behavior. These behaviors are detrimental to the social and educational endeavors of the people involved. Biological and genetic aspects of autism Spectrum Disorders Autism spectrum is a medical term that is used to describe children and adults who experience difficulties in motor coordination, socializing, communicating (verbal and non-verbal) and language acquisition (Tager-Flusberg, Paul and Lord, 2005). The authors describe autism as a neurological disorder that stems from the brain’s inability to carryout some functions normally. The causes of Autism as well as the reasons why it affects lingual and communication skills are not entirely known though there is a close linkage between Autism and genetics. Studies indicate that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is inherited between family members. A study conducted by the American Psychiatric Association (2000) indicated that there is a 3-6% chance of getting autism amongst siblings. However, Korvatska et al (2002) state that the difficulty experienced by scientists in pinpointing the genetic aspects of autism emanates from the lack of extended family histories. In most cases, autistic individual become more detached socially that they rarely marry or have children. As such, finding a family that has detailed genetic information regarding autism is difficult. On a brighter note, twins have been used to explore the genetics behind autism (Beaudet, 2007). One study indicated an 82% likelihood of an autistic identical twin having the same disorder. This is in contrast to the 10% likelihood indicated by results from fraternal twins. More sophisticated studies have in the recent past concluded that 90% of autism related behavioral phenotypes are as a result of inherited genes (Happé & Ronald, 2008). This shows that there is a strong relationship between autism and genes. Biologically, the root cause of autism has been difficult due to relative inability to access and study the brain systematically. However, technological innovations and advancements such as MRIs, CT scans and SPECT have made it possible to study the structure and functionality of the brain. As a result, specialists have been able to deduce that majority of the brain’s structures play a pivotal role in the development of ASD. According to NIMH (2009, p. 1) they include but are not limited to “