How many of you have more than 1 child on the spectrum?

[catherinea1971]

Hi all, not posted for ages but regularly have a read....
My DD2 was diagnosed with ASD a couple of months ago aged 2.5, I also have DS who's 5 now and was diagnosed just before his 3rd birthday.
When diagnosing DD2 the pead said she wasn't convinced that my DC's ASD was genetic....I also have DSS dx AS.
So I am just wondering how many of you have more then one with ASD and what if anything the professionals have mentioned re genetics?

[starfish71]

I have two boys, eldest 14 recently dx with aspergers (though we have been in the system for quite a while...) and youngest 8 dx with autism age 6.

Professionals have never mentioned genetics expect in a 'you are more likely to have a child with ASD if you have one already'.. kind of way. Also when going through statementing process for eldest DS, professionals, EP, medical officer, Autism Advisory Teacher felt it relevant enough to mention his siblings dx in their reports. Why? No idea.

[swanthingafteranother]

Ds2 diagnosed with Asperger's/HFA at 8. Ds1 now 12 no diagnosis but we have referred him for a dyspraxia investigation. Quite different from brother, but some of the same issues re: social communication, albeit to a much milder degree.

[chocjunkie]

we have 2 DDs DD1 has autism and DD2 (only 22 months) seems very NT so far.

I have asked our paed about the chances of having another child with autism and he said he sees a lot of families that have more than one child with ASD.

[DameMargotFountain]

DD is 5yrs and dx ASD 6mths ago

DS2 is adult and most definitely on the spectrum, had dyslexia assessments at primary school but it wasn't serious enough for him to be statemented so no further action was taken

DS1 also has very strong AS traits

since going through the dx process with DD, it's very hard NOT to spot traits in most of my family members, and i'd put a 90% bet on MIL having AS even though i'm not qualified

[wibbleweed]

DS2 is 5.5 and has dx of AS.

DS1 is 8.5 and the older he gets, the more ASD type traits manifest themselves... It's now becoming an issue at school (mainly anxiety and control issues) and school (with my support) are referring to CAMHS for a dx. Here we go again...

WW xx

[EllenJaneisstillnotmyname]

DS2 has ASD, DS3 is very quirky, def not NT but wouldn't get a DX IMO.

You might be interested in the following BBC article. m.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14507532

I am sure a lot of autism (not all, but that would beca huge coincidence in your situation!) is hereditary. My ExH's father and brother are also unDXed but very 'eccentric.'

[autumnsmum]

I have two children on the spectrum dd13 is nt but ds 7 has high functioning autism and dd3 has just been diagnosed with autism and cognitive impairment.I have wondered about the genetic link as dd13 has a different father to my younger two.

[SpookyRumours]

Ds1 (10) was dx 4 years ago, and we are just going through observations for a possible dx with ds2 (3). No one else in the extended family has asd as far as we know, but I can see traits in a few. I think it is genetic.

[Glitterknickaz]

Yes, all three.
Genetics testing has been negative on all the genes they suspect as being 'autism causing'.

[coppertop]

Ds1 and ds2 both have ASD.

My two DDs both are/seem very NT.

The only comment I've had was when a Paed said something about how the ASD only seemed to run in boys in our family. It was said in a joking way though, rather than as a medical issue. The appointment was at short notice so I'd had to take both girls to the appointment with me.

[iluvmababyz]

hi i have 2 daughters.

dd2 (2 1/2 years) is 18 days away from final assessment meeting and we have a meeting to discuss diagnosis 2 days later, paediatrician consultant mentioned classic autism.

we asked her what the chances of having another child asd and she said that recent studies suggested up to a 1 in 5 chance but could be anything from a 1 in 20 chance. our eldest daughter was always advanced and doing really well in school (5 1/2 years) which just makes us wonder how our daughters are both totally different.

[EllenJaneisstillnotmyname]

iluv, the 1 in 5 chance is for anyone with a DC on the spectrum. It doesn't take into account why your DC has ASD. If it was a chance mutation that's not hereditary, along with some other unknown environmental factors, then your chances would be less than 1 in 5. For a girl baby the chances are less again, but for boys, more.

It could be that your DD's autism is not hereditary, but given that you don't know, your chances for a 3rd child are about 1 in 5. There are some studies that think the age of the father may be a factor, so that your later DC will have a higher risk than earlier ones, but it's not proven.

[ouryve]

Both of mine have, as has my nephew (and most of my other male relatives on my mum's side, though undiagnosed)

The genetic link is pretty obvious, in our case.

[iluvmababyz]

hi EllenJaneisstillnotmyname thanks for your reply :)

we are young parents had dd1 at 18 and dd2 at 21 (same school year and basically known each other all our lives lol)

we dont really know a lot about asd there is none in either of our familiies

[EllenJaneisstillnotmyname]

So hopefully just a random chance? But I think it is wise to have all the facts before you make any decisions about more DC. I was already pregnant with DS3 before DS2 was DXed, so the decision was made for me. As it happens, DS3 is quirky but has been a great role model and mate for DS2 and I'm very glad I had him. If he had been severely autistic, I feel that I wouldn't have been able to devote enough of my time to DS2 and DS3. Hard choices...

[iluvmababyz]

it certainly is ive been having problems with my own health recently and wont be thinking about it properly until once dd2 is settled in school and much older and im a lot better :)

[Glitterknickaz]

Same here. DS1 had been dx'ed but not DS2 when I was pg with DD.