Hey everyone
I've a sister who was diagnosed with autism at a young age. I never really thought much about it because shes on the higher end of the spectrum and have only really been looking into the condition until recently
I was hoping someone here would be able to help me find out the odds of having a child with autism given that they have a sibling with the condition.
Does anyone know if such a statistic has been documented?
No single gene has been identified as I understand it but there are likely to be a number of genes that can combine in lots of different combinations.
The development of a problem depends on the genes but also on the upbringing. Because of the genetic link it is common that one or both of one's parents were affected more or less so you get a double whammy of susceptible genes combined with an "odd" upbringing.
This needs to be understood - your parents would have had no idea about the condition. Most parents only discover the autism in their genes after someone gets a diagnosis.
Is there a specific gene identified as causing ASD?
StephenHarris said:I know it can be a gift, but for me it's been a curse. I've never had a girlfriend, I've had long bouts of unemployment and never felt 'normal'.
For me, it seems like I was born 'faulty' rather than 'different'. While I've stopped thinking about suicide, I've sometimes wished that someone would kill me to put me out of my misery.
I also fear that one day my 'stupidity' will end up killing someone.
I was diagnosed a couple of months ago - for the past 30 years of my life, I've felt I don't fit in without an explanation. I still sometimes think "I'm not autistic, I'm just thick" despite the evidence, as I leave yet another light on.
Do I want to inflict that on a child of mine? Especially when there are many kids waiting for adoption, we're adding 100 million people or so a year to this planet and the world is increasingly getting worse.
I suffer from many intrusive thoughts - I frequently find myself wishing an asteroid would wipe out this whole stupid human race. Brexit, Trump, Daesh, the lot... it's getting me very depressed.
It's a gift & a curse. There are aspects that are gifts a lot of people would love to have. But not everyone would want the cost that goes with it.
I've only ever had one boyfriend. It lasted a few months. He was from my college days & he may have had ASD too. That was 15 years ago. I found the attention way too intense. And I couldn't give him the physical relationship he wanted, so I left.
At a young age I accepted I was too stupid to even learn to drive. Plus that I'd be a danger to others if I could. So I've never even driven a car.
There are plenty of days that I wish I was dead. And in all honesty I do feel like I'm only tolerating life for the sake of my daughter. If she weren't here I'm sure I'd have had a lethal not so accidental accident long ago.
I think a lot of people with political ideals that didn't go their way, feel so strongly that they wish the world would end too.
Remember that your personal view is not necessarily how your child would feel if they had ASD. My daughter doesn't have ASD. But she has little quirky actions that I can relate to doing as a child, yet she never saw them. I even used an anonymous internet sperm donor to have her. She has no father. But she's still glad to be alive.
And in my experience with children's services they don't want children to be raised by us anyway. They assume those with ASD provide 'barely adequate' parenting. I wouldn't adopt & support the council's tradition of stealing children from perfectly good homes. Just so they can give them to those whose chosen lifestyle they approve of.
I know it can be a gift, but for me it's been a curse. I've never had a girlfriend, I've had long bouts of unemployment and never felt 'normal'.
For me, it seems like I was born 'faulty' rather than 'different'. While I've stopped thinking about suicide, I've sometimes wished that someone would kill me to put me out of my misery.
I also fear that one day my 'stupidity' will end up killing someone.
I was diagnosed a couple of months ago - for the past 30 years of my life, I've felt I don't fit in without an explanation. I still sometimes think "I'm not autistic, I'm just thick" despite the evidence, as I leave yet another light on.
Do I want to inflict that on a child of mine? Especially when there are many kids waiting for adoption, we're adding 100 million people or so a year to this planet and the world is increasingly getting worse.
I suffer from many intrusive thoughts - I frequently find myself wishing an asteroid would wipe out this whole stupid human race. Brexit, Trump, Daesh, the lot... it's getting me very depressed.
StephenHarris said:I know that the possibility of passing this condition on to my children has made me feel that I shouldn't have any... is that a point of view I should hold or not?
It depends if you care how others with autism feel. As you're basically saying you don't think they should've existed.
If there was a cure for ASD or I could go back & be born without it, I'd choose to keep my ASD. No one is perfect. Although ASD can seem a curse, it's also a gift. And there are worse conditions we could have had instead.
I read somewhere - a post by Baron Cohen IIRC - if one of two children has autism, the probability of second being autistic is "above 50%".
I will try and find the link if it's helpful ?
I know that the possibility of passing this condition on to my children has made me feel that I shouldn't have any... is that a point of view I should hold or not?
If you have cystic fibrosis then there are definitive lab tests to identify if you have the condition. With mental issues like ASD there are no definitive lab test and it is down to the doctor to decide if you have it badly enough to warrant a diagnosis. There are lots of people who will never get diagnosed, although they have the traits and the genes, because they can manage. My family (father and his siblings) was really affected but I am the only one with a diagnosis - there are at least 3 others who are on the spectrum and several generations of ancestors that I know of that fit the criteria but the heritability trail only started with me.
Yeah it's definitely hereditary it's just unusual to me that I can't find an answer to my question because I can find the answer for other genetic conditions like
Cystic Fibrosis (1/24) www2.le.ac.uk/.../medical-genetics-answers
But this kind of info seems to be missing in autism
It's not very important though
