Autism more likely in the children of two highly analytical people, expert argues

[flashingnose]

article here

[Eulalia]

Thanks for this - yes strikes a chord. I am very analytic and quite 'unfeminine' in my thinking and feelings. dh definately displays Asperger characteristics. Both my parents are scientists.

[expatinscotland]

Interesting.

[jenk1]

I would agree with this report as i have AS and we think my dad has, im into "mens" way of thinking as i love to talk about cars and engineering and structures but i also like feminine things as well

[Pixel]

I've read something like this before. It was about how there are an abnormally high percentage of autistic children in America's 'silicon valley'.

Strangely I read this after my dh had bought himself a second-hand computer having never even touched one before, and taught himself to use it. In no time he was fixing other peoples' computers for them and is now doing his Microsoft exams. It came as a surprise how quickly he picked it up because his previous jobs had included bus conductor (showing his age )baker, musician and publican.

Ds, although non-verbal/still in nappies etc, is a real computer whizz-kid. He certainly doesn't get it from me, I've only just worked out how to do links!

[Pixel]

Mind you, I'm good at crosswords. Does that count?

[edam]

I remember some previous research linking autism to the number of engineers in the family ? something to do with a heightened ability to process information in certain ways. Sounds as if this is further work along the same lines. Jimjams was very interesting on the topic, hope she sees this.

[Saker]

I went to a talk by Simon Baron-Cohen the other day and I asked him if it was true that there is a higher percentage of children with autism in Silicon Valley and also around Cambridge where I live (which has been nicknamed "Silicon Fen" because of the high number of science and IT companies). He said there was no published evidence but strong anecdotal evidence that this was the case. Interestingly a number of the fathers (of autistic children) that I spoke to at the talk were in IT and engineering.

I would be interested if this relates to higher percentage of autistic children who are boys. I am a scientist (biochemisty though so a bit "softer" science ) and in the lab I used to work in 9 of the women had 13 children between them but only 2 were girls!

[motherinferior]

I have to say you can be very analytical in the traditionally 'girly' fields too. Come and help me edit this report if you don't believe me.

[RnB]

Message withdrawn

[tobysmumkent]

Message withdrawn

[morningpaper]

This theory has been around for a long time, a lot of people suspect it will soon be proven

interesting innit

[Blandmum]

I think that this sort of study needs to be ver careful in differentiating between the NT but mildly nerdish, and those children who are disabled by a profound abnormality in brain function.

I would quite happily agree that there are lots of 'nerdish' children of 'nerdish' and analytical parents ( my two for a starter, dh did engineering and I did biochemistry).

But to say that children with ASD always have analytical parents may well not have such parents. It also strays dangerously close to the 'refrigerator' mother horrors of the 60s IMHO

[getbakainyourjimjams]

Think it can be true for high functioning AS/autistic tendencies. Think its bollocks for severe autism. The kids at ds1's school come from a very wise background. Will read the article now

[getbakainyourjimjams]

Simon BC works on AS/HFA- (currently). Very little of the stuff I read by him relates/applies to ds1.

[Blandmum]

You said what I wanted to say, but in a much more analytical way!

That said, I have also met Apsies with very NT parents

[getbakainyourjimjams]

oh yes I'm sure mb. That's why I put high functioning AS iyswim.

[getbakainyourjimjams]

dh btw doesn't have a scientific bone in his body- lots of autoimmunity though- which is where I think we fit in.

[Blandmum]

I sometimes feel that people with autism are in the same position as people who had a range of infectious diseases before bacteria and viruses were discovered.

In the past people had 'A fever'. Now we know that , superficialy, they might have had similar symptoms, but the causal agents could be wildly different....and cures for that matter.

We know so little about ASD, HF autism, aspergers etc, that we use the superficial similarites to lump them all together. When in actual fact the causes could be massivly different

[Anoah]

My dh and I are both very analytical and science orientated, my DS is probably asd. Let me bore you with my family history for the hell of it.

Mother's brother is a software engineer and a composer, and is as eccentric as they come with no social skills. He bought me a book about chess written in russian for my 5th birthday. Undiagnosed.

Mum's mother's brother was a succesful nuclear physicist who was also insanely eccentric. Apparantly he never spoke except to talk very limited subjects of his own interest, had savant abilities. He used to wander around all the time like he was lost and he just went missing and no one heard from him ever again in 1965 age 35.

My son is the only other male relative in my mothers immediate family and he is being evaluated for ASD. He pretty much screams it.

Weird huh?

[Anoah]

Family is also full of auto-immune problems.

[Saker]

I'm sure there must be a multitude of contributing factors to autism. The fact that you can have identical twins, one who is autistic and one who is NT suggests that to me.

Btw Jimjams, in reference to a previous discussion we had, I also asked Simon BC about pointing and why children without autism don't point. Tbh he didn't really seem to know. He just said he thought they couldn't see the point if you'll excuse the pun and that it was a fundamental part of child development. Also interestingly, a couple of people raised the question of why the CHAT test was not used as screen and he said that he didn't think it should be - that it gave too many false negatives and positives.

[Saker]

That's interesting Anoah!

[PeachyClair]

I am certainly analytical, I get good grades in Psychology and have an ability to switch off my emotions and do pure logic if required. I have possible AS myself, certainly i think I do, everything I have read applies to me and my DH would agree.

Dh gets his kicks from building unique electronic circuitry, which he then sells. I also like electrical stuff: it has rules and makes sense. It doesn't do things you don't expect it to.

A lecturer last year (Psychology) told me that kids with ASD have at least one parent (typically) with a Maths ability. Don't know if that is research or not, but certainly DH's family.... bil likes his electronics too, though restricts himself to the sound side of it; FIL taught them all it.

[PeachyClair]

Oh yes, we have the allergy stuff in pur family too, and the arthritis which I am told is similar genes.

Ds1 has AS, DS3 possibly (suspicions but too young to say more really) and my nephew is showng all the signs ds1 did.