Autism inheritability?!
Question: If my husband's sister, uncle and half brother all have autism, but my family doesn't have a history of it, what are the chances we would have a child with it?
Answers: If my husband's sister, uncle and half brother all have autism, but my family doesn't have a history of it, what are the chances we would have a child with it?
You and your husband might benefit from genetic counseling, where a trained professional actually does an analysis of the gene pool and can give you an individualized prognosis.
I have a friend who had one autistic son, then a normal child, then opted for one more hoping that two siblings could better help share the load of caring for the autistic brother if/when they as parents were deceased or elderly, but the youngest was born autistic as well. They have since determined a genetic component that somehow didn't show up or they weren't aware of before, so it is definitely a genetic thing in some families.
A fairly high percentage of autistic cases are of undetermined origin and some researchers believe they are due to other environmental factors even when they occur as multiples in families.
pretty high
adopt
I don't think we have all the answers. It's clearly partly genetic, but there are many genes that contribute to it, so you don't know which particular ones the family might have. How many siblings of your husband do *not* have it?
There is some evidence that it's just an inherited susceptibility to something else. Discover magazine said last year that there was a strong connection with gluten allergy; that autistic children often respond very positively when gluten is removed from the diet.
BTW, the link to vaccinations has been studied over and over, and the medical community doesn't see a link. Ask your doctor.. your doctor almost certainly has vaccinated their own children.
especially if you vaccinate your child the risk is alot higher.
There is no genetic evidence to support this. Most behavioral experts think it has something to do with hormonal balance in the brain during critical development stages in the womb. I've known many families with one autistic child and more than one normal. It's kind of a dice roll.
However, older women have higher incidents. It seems to take a spike in your late forties. Possibly something with old eggs?
There hasn't been enough research done to determine this as yet. You also wouldn't know if the child you have has autism until he/she turns around two.
I'd probably weigh up how severe the autism is on your husband's side and then play roulette, have a baby anyway.
If you don't have a baby you may regret it forever (but maybe you won't?) I'm a disability support worker and there are all kinds of autism but regardless, the people who have autism are all lovely people :)
Very tricky one isn't it? Best wishes.
Well, you gotta take into consideration the environmental factors, not just the genetic ones.
All kinds of metallic poisoning could affect the outcome of your child, as can a fever, viral infection, malnutrition, spinal bifidia (from lack of vitamin b12), and even emotional stress.
The rise of the number of autistic and mentally retarded children born in this country speaks more about a toxic environment than a dormant autistic genetic makeup.
If I were you, I'd ask questions about what kind of environment your husband's autistic relatives were born from. Were they all in a big city? which one? where? what environmental laws were enacted since then? where there mines, power plants, factories nearby?
also, to bypass this entirely, I hear there's a means of fertilizing eggs with selected sperm to ensure the best possible combination of genes. maybe you can look into that?
I have a full autistic brother and a slightly autistic brother. Both of my parents and their family lines have NEVER had any case of Autism, unless it was a million years ago. Some studies show that its genetic, others say it happens after the child is 2, but it could happen to your child since it's from your husband's side of the family. But, you'll never know until you see for yourself.
Plus, If you do have an autistic child, it's best for them to have a sibling too, so they do not feel isolated from the world or do not socialize. The great thing about autistic children is that they do not talk back to you... unless you teach them that.
No way to really "calculate" out the heredity of autism since it's not 100% proven to be hereditary anyway. That being said, my mom is the only other person in my immediate family (cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents) to show some symptoms, whereas I have clinical Asperger's (for all intents and purposes, she's completely functional while I have had trouble with critical stages of development since childhood). It's pretty obvious I "inherited" it from her, but where she "got" it from is a mystery. Autism works in mysterious ways, there's no way to know for sure. That being said, with every instance of it in your family, the chance of any offspring having it grows exponentially.
In any event, please ignore everything anyone says about vaccinations. That theory has been more or less entirely thrown out. Not to mention, people report first seeing autistic symptoms around the age of those boosters, which is stupid because of course that's when children start truly displaying those critical aspects of their personalities anyway. It's just timing.