Do Aspergers syndrome parents have autistic children?
Hmm. I generally think the repercussions of a geek self-diagnosing Asperger’s from what they read on the internet are both a) rather minimal and b) of no concern to anyone else. In the case of genetic counseling, however, I think I would rather trust a professional. The evidence of genetic components is really at a threshold level here and much disputed. My personal feeling is that you should go ahead and have kids and just use this as a caution flag in terms of parenting, something to be ready for, but I don’t think the odds are known to be particularly higher (if they are known at all). The real question for you may not be “Are we more likely to have autistic/AS kids?” but “Are we prepared to be the parents of autistic/AS kids?” Frankly, the diagnosis rate is very high today (probably too high, but that is likely an artifact of aggressive intervention by school systems). There are lots and lots of parents successfully raising autistic-spectrum kids, and a fair number of them aren’t f
I’ve been involved in research on high-functioning autism for a few years. Anecdotally, it’s commonly agreed around the labs where I’ve worked that if we’re seeing a new-to-us family with a child who has autism, we should be prepared for a pretty good possibility that one or both of the parents may display some sort of autism-like behavioral traits. That said, the genetic research just isn’t solidly there yet that I’m aware of (though I could very well be wrong here, genetics isn’t my area), so I don’t know that there’s really a solid answer to your question. Or that going to a genetic consultant would do you any good. You might want to look into it for peace of mind, but you’re probably better off doing more research. If you want to get a diagnostic workup yourself, look for a doctor or research program where staff are specifically trained in autism diagnostic testing. Whoever you talk to is particularly going to be interested in any medical or educational documentation you have from
Since Asperger’s is kind of an amorphous syndrome, without clear mechanisms, it’s impossible to definitively say whether susceptibility would be genetically inherited by your offspring or not. What we do know: – There’s some evidence to suggest that it may be genetic and if that’s the case, then yes, your child would be at higher risk. This is all very tentative, though, and I’d take any data with a grain of salt until more is known. – There are also a bunch of hypotheses about environmental causes being the primary causes, which are poorly substantiated as well. If these turn out to be the predominant mechanism, you wouldn’t have much to worry about. Your question really highlights the problems that the medical community is facing with genetic testing. In cases like autism and Aspergers, where so little is known, no tests will be able to help you decide what to do. Given how little is known about the disorder, and how mild Asperger’s is, (compared to diseases that are more socially cr
Given how little is known about the disorder, and how mild Asperger’s is, (compared to diseases that are more socially crippling, like autism) I wouldn’t be worried. Asperger’s isn’t necessarily mild, maybe compared to full blown autism, but just by itself it can be very hard to deal with. I have mild asperger’s, my 2 nephews, on the other hand, are more extreme. Raising them has been quite hard on my brother. They are great kids in weird wonderful ways but I’m not sure I could deal with them on a daily basis.
There are some articles quoted on the wikipedia page on Aspeger’s. I wouldn’t worry about severe autism though. Unless you are autistic yourself the chances of getting an autistic child are really low. Have kids. It will be great fun.
