How autism can look very different, even in identical twins
When the boys spent a year in the same school, Sam did fine, but John struggled and had some noisy meltdowns. Jodi Hilton for NPR hide caption
When the boys spent a year in the same school, Sam did fine, but John struggled and had some noisy meltdowns.
Jodi Hilton for NPRSam and John Fetters, 19, are identical twins in very different places on the autism spectrum. Sam is a sophomore at Amherst College and runs marathons in his free time. John attends a school for people with special needs and loves to watch Sesame Street in his free time.
Identical twins like Sam and John pose an important question for scientists: How can a disorder that is known to be highly genetic look so different in siblings who share the same genome?
Check out more of NPR's series on the Science of Siblings.
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Today's episode was produced by Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Jon Hamilton checked the facts. Phil Elfors and Gilly Moon were the audio engineers.