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Is asd hereditary

NAS79493

Hi, I'm new to this page.

My 12 year old daughter is currently on the waiting list to be assessed for asd/adhd. It's very clear she has one or both. Thankfully the ep picked up the social communicator disorder amongst other things. 

Camhs have said it will be 18 months before a diagnosis so plan to hopefully go private. She has other ailments too. She's extremely great at masking alot of things. She cannot maintain friendships, has social, emotional and communication difficulties- hence the reason for the much needed assessment. 

I am curious to ask also if asd is hereditary? My brother has high functioning autism and adhd and sister is on the asd spectrum but she is still going through tests. They are on my dads side of the family. My partner has recently said that he notices that I am very meticulous and like to have things in order, have a routine, know what is happening ahead of things etc, and my stepmum asked me if I have ever been tested because of my brother and sister. I'm now overwhelmed if the chance of me having it is high and if so is it hereditary and my daughter has it because of me. 

Any help or advice would be appreciated. 

Parents

  • I believe that yes, it is hereditory and I can see this within generations of my own family.  However, i don't believe that the genetic inheritance is straightforward, as it would be in case of a dominant gene, but rather relates to lots of genes and their interactions.

    Given the strong line of inheritance within my family, I now look back and feel shocked that, once one of us received a a positive diagnosis, advice and guidance (plus assessments if wanted) weren't immediately offered to other family members.  This would have been an obvious way to help our family (and others too) as a whole, preventing issues which stem from lack of support or accommodations or indeed coming from limited self awareness and knowledge of our own identity.  I think this is something that is picked up on by Philip Wylie in his book, "Very Late Diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome".  Very late identification is something that has affected my family very deeply.   

Reply

  • I believe that yes, it is hereditory and I can see this within generations of my own family.  However, i don't believe that the genetic inheritance is straightforward, as it would be in case of a dominant gene, but rather relates to lots of genes and their interactions.

    Given the strong line of inheritance within my family, I now look back and feel shocked that, once one of us received a a positive diagnosis, advice and guidance (plus assessments if wanted) weren't immediately offered to other family members.  This would have been an obvious way to help our family (and others too) as a whole, preventing issues which stem from lack of support or accommodations or indeed coming from limited self awareness and knowledge of our own identity.  I think this is something that is picked up on by Philip Wylie in his book, "Very Late Diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome".  Very late identification is something that has affected my family very deeply.   

Children
  • in reply to Jenny Butterfly

    The NHS is very much focused on diagnosing the person, and they don't really want the whole family applying for assessment for autism so won't normally suggest you all think about if you might be autistic.

    Its like playing the game mousetrap, nothing happens until that ball starts rolling with the first diagnosis - and then it can trigger the immediate family members, and wider family members, to start thinking about it themselves.  Some won't be interested at all or flatly deny it when probably true, its a bit amusing to watch it unfurl really, but it might dawn on others when they think about it, especially if they learned to mask when younger and are still doing it without realising.