The Four Biological Subtypes of Autism

In this episode, I'm taking you inside one of the most important and often overlooked pieces of the autism puzzle: your child's biology. When a child is diagnosed with autism, that diagnosis is based on behavior, and for most families, the story stops there. But underneath the same diagnosis, children can look completely different biologically, and once we begin supporting each child based on their actual biology, things start to shift in ways they couldn't before.I walk you through the four broad biological categories researchers have identified, and the more specific subtypes within each. We start with metabolic, including how the mitochondria (the power plants inside every cell) produce energy, and the nutrient deficiencies like iron, vitamin D, B12, and folate that show up so often. Then we move to immune and inflammatory, where the brain's own immune cells, the microglia, are in constant conversation with the body. Next is cortical patterning, which is really about how the brain was physically built during pregnancy, and what a marker like head circumference can tell us. And finally single gene, where one identifiable gene shapes a recognizable pattern, in conditions like Fragile X, Rett, and tuberous sclerosis complex.This episode is for you if: you've heard that there are "types" of autism but no one has explained what that actually means, your child struggles with sleep, digestion, energy, or sensory overwhelm and you're not sure why, you want to understand the biology behind your child's behavior, or you're looking for a science-backed framework that goes beyond behavior alone.