Autism is it in the genes?

[scats]

so my husband is 1 of 4 boys.

all 4 boys have children.

David the oldest has 1 daughter and 1 son – son has 2 types of ADHA and is on the Autism scale

Jim has 1 son and twin girls – son is very high of Autism scale and can be hard to communicate with

Kevin has 1 daughter – no issues that are known

husband had twin boys (one sadly passed shortly after birth) so just Henry now who is 6 and on Monday is going to see specialists as the school thing he has some “issues” and if i am truthful when i watch him at home with us (not my child) he has different ways of doing things.

so my question is, is it possible that all the male side have some form of Autism?

the mother to all 4 sons has passed away so can not ask her, as or father my husband has a different to his 3 siblings

also me and my husband have talked about starting our own family, is it possible if we have a son he too would have this?

i have to admit i know very little about any of the over special needs, so every day i am learning along with the children on how to help them cop with daily life when in my care.

[don]

Yes autism is genetic as traits are exhibited at ages too young to have been learned and the autistic spectrum is wide and encompasses almost unnoticeable behaviour traits to very noticeable and sometimes challenging behaviours. Why not get in touch with one of the specialist autism groups and ask for their input/research.

[karen]

I know of one family with 5 siblings (2 fathers), four are boys and all have learning difficulties and are on the autistic spectrum, the one girl has no problems. Given that there are two fathers it would appear that there is a genetic link on the mother’s side.

[Sara J]

I think the research is such that certain genes predispose a child to autism, so if you have a son then there is a chance he could develop as autistic somewhere on the spectrum

I am “high functioning” ASD, diagnosed as a 13-year-old and again in my 40’s with a more “constructive” approach than back in the early 70’s when you were basically consigned to the heap with the label “retard”.

HF ASD to be fair has been tough to live with over the years and actually got tougher as I got into my 40’s and 50’s maybe because I’ve realised just how much it has impacted my life and how life could have been if I was “normal” as everyone seemed to want me to be. Although it has defined who I am, I can’t say that it has been a welcome companion on my travel through life.

I would say that in some ways my father shows ASD tendencies, he is very very fixed in his routines and does not like them to be challenged or changed. He hates noise and likes order and can be oblivious abtou the way other people see him.

My son? He’s shown signs of ASD like traits. But having lived with me, and talked openly about it he is really aware of those tendencies in his thinking and behaviour. He has found it difficult to manage the incidents where he has behaved according to type, is aware of it and can’t climb back down. But he is at Uni, doing really well and is a really popular guy, but there is always that slight standing back from everyone else and maintaining his own barriers.

Sorry, that was a bit of a ramble!

[nelly]

Yes, they have identified some of the genetic components, but certainly not all.

I’d strongly suspect that these days my Gran would get a diagnosis, and my mum has a lot of traits but probably not diagnosable, her youngest sister is certainly a possibility too.

With regards to this also me and my husband have talked about starting our own family, is it possible if we have a son he too would have this? it isn’t sex linked so it would not matter if you had a son or a daughter?

[summo]

There is definitely a genetic component to autism and other comorbid conditions.

As an aside, autism in girls/women is underdiagnosed as they can present very differently to boys and often ‘mask’ better in social situations so tend to fly under the radar.

[kath]

Yes, I am sure that I’ve inherited my autism (Asperger’s), because when I was diagnosed, it became evident that e.g. there probably is some older relatives on my mother’s side, who most likely would have been diagnosed with autism, if they had been born today. But I’m thinking that it can be more than one recessive gene involved. My mother have some autistic traits, but not close to being classed as autistic, and by the way, my sister isn’t autistic. Whereas I also happen to have inherited narcolepsy from my father, genetic lottery, you’re either lucky, or not.