Aspergers and Autism and Genetics?

[Praxis]

Ace Pace alerted me to the fact that there are a lot more people with Asperger's syndrome on SD.net than I realized. So this is as good a place as any to ask a question that's been on my mind.

I have Aspergers syndrome. Some members on my mom's side of the family have had Aspie-ish tendencies but nobody really has Asperger's or Autism that I know of.

If someone with Aspergers, like, say me, gets married and starts a family and has a child...is it likely that the child will have Aspergers? Is it likely that child will have full blown Autism (not high functioning)?

This is something I suppose terrifies me. I know some people with Autism that are not high functioning, and the sensory input overwhelms me often. The type that are constantly making strange noises and no grasp on traditional body language...I've tried so hard to learn the body language of neurotypicals (normal people) that I suppose it throws me off even more. And I genuinely feel for them! But their presence and actions triggers my own sensitivity with Aspergers and bothers me even more. I try to help them when I can but I can't spend too much time without it bothering me.

I could deal with a child exactly as myself; while I have dealt with much pain from my lack of social skills, I've also felt great joy in triumphs, over both small and large things. My analytical brain has taken me far and I could help a child dealing with the problems I had. I could deal with a normal child as well.

If I had a low-functioning Autistic child though...I don't know how my mind would be able to deal with it. I might be easily overwhelmed.


This is all hypothetical of course; I'm not planning on having children any time soon.


So how does Aspergers and Autism work down family lines? Would I be very likely to have an autistic child? Another Aspie?

[CaptainChewbacca]

Autism doesn't appear to have an entirely genetic link. I have Asperger's, my twin brother seems less pronounced than I do. Nobody in my family has it, though my cousin did seem to have tourettes when she was younger.

I'd say it makes your child more 'likely' compared to the general population, but you shouldn't let it keep you from having a child that you will love unconditionally.

[Praxis]

Don't get me wrong, I would love a child unconditionally. I can realize how my post might give the wrong impression on that. It's just one of those things that worries me since I have a tendency to overanalyze the future, and I've never had the opportunity to ask about it. I have a tendency to worry too much; enough to give me anxiety problems, but not enough to paralyze me and keep me from kicking life's butt.

[Stark]

I am never having children for this reason. Atavism doesn't outweigh my fucking disaster of a childhood, and I'm not making *anyone* go through that, no matter how much a fucking genius they'd be or how much they'd look after me in my old age.

Frankly, looking at my family and that of those I know with high-functioning autism, the odds seem VERY high that your kids will at least be strange and show SOME symptoms (enough to affect their life), and there's a non-zero chance their whole life will be crippled by anxiety and frustration. Unless we start an 'autistic culture' where we all try to be as anxious as we can and breed kids to this end?

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Unfortunately my Asperger's book is on loan at the moment, which is a shame since I suspect it has a very good answer to this question.

However, I did go to the US Autism & Asperger's Association convention here in Denver last month which had a number of presentations regarding the genetic and physiological components to autism-spectrum disorders. The thing which most caught my interest was the tendency for relatives, especially parents and siblings, to have sub-clinical symptoms of ASDs. The other posters in this thread and my own experiences seem to support this.

How that extends to children I'm not 100% certain of. If I can get my book back (an absolutely excellent source for all things Asperger's, by the way: The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood) I'll look through it and post anything relevant I can find.

[Stark]

Dude, I knew Tony Attwood growing up lol!

[Aaron]

Try PMing SirNitram and Superman, there both pretty clued in on this topic.

[SirNitram]

So how does Aspergers and Autism work down family lines? Would I be very likely to have an autistic child? Another Aspie?

Point blank: Unknown. There's definitely genetic trends, but we know so very little about the diseases. Gastrointestinal malfunctions are common in ASD's. I didn't know that until recently.

You might have a full Autistic. You might have a normal. My sister is a normal, even if my dad has symptoms like mine but less pronounced.

Just don't believe the crap about vaccinations causing it. If there's a traumatic cause, it'd be similar to mine, where the outside layer of my cerebral cortex inflamed and pressed against my skull during my formative years.

[wautd]

I wonder if I have Aspergers syndrome. Never heared of it untill recently (thanks to an upcoming movie about it) and upon looking more into it I certainly have quite a lot more sympthoms in common

[Ace Pace]

I wonder if I have Aspergers syndrome. Never heared of it untill recently (thanks to an upcoming movie about it) and upon looking more into it I certainly have quite a lot more sympthoms in common

Don't try to diagnose yourself, just don't. If you honestly think you have a problem, go see a qualified person.

[wautd]

I wonder if I have Aspergers syndrome. Never heared of it untill recently (thanks to an upcoming movie about it) and upon looking more into it I certainly have quite a lot more sympthoms in common

Don't try to diagnose yourself, just don't. If you honestly think you have a problem, go see a qualified person.

You're absolutely right offcourse, but I was just wondering. It's not like it would change a lot anyway

[Masami von Weizegger]

You should still get it checked, dude. But, be careful, on the internet there's a million self-diagnosed Asperger's "sufferers" who have nothing of the sort.

[Shrykull]

You should still get it checked, dude. But, be careful, on the internet there's a million self-diagnosed Asperger's "sufferers" who have nothing of the sort.

But just make sure you also get a qualified psychologist. I remember once I was a being shy in a session with one and my mother, and he whips out the book, and say "Aha, he has Aspergers!" Though I've seen other psychologist who say they just don't see it in me.

[Praxis]

You should still get it checked, dude. But, be careful, on the internet there's a million self-diagnosed Asperger's "sufferers" who have nothing of the sort.

But just make sure you also get a qualified psychologist. I remember once I was a being shy in a session with one and my mother, and he whips out the book, and say "Aha, he has Aspergers!" Though I've seen other psychologist who say they just don't see it in me.

Wow. We had to go through a bazillion doctors before I got the Asperger's diagnosis. I had a triple diagnosis of Tourette's, OCD (repetitive behaviors) and ADHD (inability to make eye contact thought to be just getting distracted) before we got the Asperger's diagnosis and that was the only one that really fit.