to think rising levels of neuro diverse children in society is partly due to rising ages of pregnant mothers?

[staydazzling]

im not condeming anything here btw, i would like to make that clear. and i know this may not go down well on here, donning hard hat but whenever theres discussions about how neurological diversity in children has risen ASD, ADHD etc in society, the conversion is often about MMR Ipads or diet, discipline etc which of course all important variables but i feel its unhelpful that a lot of would be mothers are not informed of the risk past 35, of downs syndrome, autism etc, its obviously much better financially to be older and have a family. aibu to feel its the elephant inthe room regarding rising levels of children with ASD, ADHD, Etc??

for what its worth im expecting approaching 34 so im not condeming anything btw, but like another poster said there always been a proven link, i knew about it inthe 90s, i had a child as a teen too so ive experienced ageism during pregnancy, so thats really not my aim here. But i find it strange its often excluded from the conversation as its becoming more and more normal.

www.newscientist.com/article/2148071-old-fathers-pass-on-more-mutations-to-kids-than-old-mothers/

Older fathers pass on more genetic mutations to their children than older mothers do, according to study that investigated the genomes of thousands of Icelandic parents and children.

Another article this time other research suggesting men's age is more important than the mothers.

Yanbu OP. Just because a lot of young women have autistic children doesn't negate the fact that risks for certain things increase with age.

Oh and DH was 20 when DS was born so paternal age wasn't a factor either.

It was getting my DD diagnosed with Dyslexia and ADHD, in 1992 that made me realise that my GM was also definitely dyslexic (I don't know how it is referred to today).

When you go through the diagnostic procedure they ask about older relatives and often a family will realise that there was a lot of family members who are/were on the spectrum.

So I do think that's it's better understanding, education standards and diagnostic tools.

Paternal age is a factor in Autism, but so are many others.

The maternal age rising does bring complications, but there isn't a link with neuro diversity.

MN gets quite hysterical about cousin marriages, but older mothers have many risk factors.

No.
It always existed had anyone cared to pay attention. We're simply better at seeing what these children are dealing with and ideally supporting them .

@Spudlet I've just googled refrigerator mother's as of never heard of it. How disgusting.

A bit tangential, but I read an article recently about a woman who had used a sperm donor for her two children. Both developed ASD, and when she started investigating, she found that a huge number of this donor's offspring had a range of leering and developmental difficulties. When she delved further, she found that he had lied in his family history and had a family history of either ASD or similar disorders. I thought that was quite interesting as it really shows the genetic element quite powerfully.

I'll see if I can find the article as it was interesting

I am no scientist, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if future research finds that pollution has a role to play in how the baby develops in the womb. That’s risen dramatically.

i feel its unhelpful that a lot of would be mothers are not informed of the risk past 35, of downs syndrome, autism etc

1. The info about maternal age and Down’s is incredibly well publicised and tested and screened.
2. You casually add ‘autism’. Can you point to ANY research that suggests this, or these other ‘etc’ conditions? Do you have any understanding of the difference between chromosomal and other types I condition?

You may bleat you’re disclaimer but it might help to have a bit of a think and research before spouting such suggestions.

It's more to do with increased awareness and diagnosis. Lots of families realise one of the parents is also has asd when a child is diagnosed. My uncle was likely have been diagnosed with ASD now but wasn't back in the 70s

Not sure why you mention mothers only when there's a link between father's age and ASD?/ADHD but yes I imagine it is a factor.

I'd say another factor is that people are more mobile and more likely to couple up with similar people so two slightly aspie parents will likely produce a more aspie child. Improved recognition is also a factor. I certainly knew a few kids at school who in hindsight clearly were on the spectrum at the time the attitude was that they were being odd on purpose.

I think that there are a mixture of things - absolutely we are better at recognising these issues now rather than writing people off. I think there is evidence that age of the father is a risk factor too.

The conversation isn't around iPads, MMR and discipline, unless really fucking stupid people are having the conversation that is.

I was 17 when I had DS and he has ASD.

I think there might be more of a family link. I used to assume ds’s came from his dads side but I think it’s mine having read how autism presents differently in women I now think perhaps my mother had it.

It is a worry for me as I’d love another baby but I’m terrified of having one with additional needs.

that risks for certain things increase with age

What things? Be specific and accurate. The OP talks about awareness. Generalised scaremongering and unfounded speculation about ‘things’ and ‘etc’ is of no value whatsoever.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/health/the-children-of-donor-h898/2019/09/14/dcc191d8-86da-11e9-a491-25df61c78dc4_story.html%3FoutputType%3Damp

Here it is.

I do agree that improvement in diagnosis and how we view conditions like autism is a big reason to. Say 50-60 years ago, most people were just viewed as 'odd'. I can think of a few people who are over 40 who would probably have a diagnosis of something if they went through the process now, but they have just grown up being the 'odd' one or the 'difficult' one and having nowhere near the opportunities they would have been born now. There are plenty of people living undiagnosed and struggling with life.

I don't think rising age of mothers having pregnancies is causing neurodiversity to increase amongst the population.

I think it's because symptoms have now been categorised into different syndromes where previously they would fall under an umbrella term such as retardation, being backward or slow, being a nervous person or just plain odd, or even having a psychiatric illness instead.

These conditions such as ADD, ASC, ADHD, PDA etc are now diagnosable because there is a clear diagnostic criteria which must be met. Also parents of children with difficulties or differences are seeking support as early help is a game changer to support a neurodiverse child in education and at home and the stigma of having a child with additional needs is I hope lessening.

Sometimes support is only available from an underfunded and overstretched health or education service if the child has a diagnosed need (I agree need should bring support and not diagnosis) and so parents and educators seek diagnosis where they may previously been inclined to offer support and see how people get on.

In the past people did start to have children younger, on the whole, but they continued having children up to menopausal age. My grandmother is one of 11 children, my own mother and father one of 5 and 7 children households. We know being an older mum can increase likelihood of some conditions for the baby but to my knowledge there has not been a link made as a risk factor to neurodiversity.

However, this is all ramblings of a person with neurodiversity in the family but no real education so take it as an insiders view only

Diagnostics for the girls /women needs to change. Far too long often our neurkdiverse diagnostic comes because we've been diagnosed with depression. Awareness is improving though, fortunately.

Years ago there was much more physical punishment. Asd children were labelled naughty or stupid and whacked for misbehaving often turning into reclusive or emotionally underdeveloped adults. Do you not have any family members in your history that just never left home and were just regarded as a bit odd?

Thank god it's not like that anymore.

Keep your skirt on Blouse the OP has a valid point, there's no need to take offence.

Age of parents and autism correlation

www.spectrumnews.org/news/link-parental-age-autism-explained/

What LonnyVonny said.

Also, YABVU and unhelpfully conflating several different headlines you’ve read and half paid attention to.

Thank goodness for @frogsbreath and a bit of perspective on recent history! Older mothers isn't a new thing. Older first time mothers is a relatively new phenomenon, but my grandmother was one of 15... It was incredibly common for women to keep producing babies until menopause. And I went to school with two 'surprise children' who had brothers and sisters much older than them. Always figured that was due to the perimenopausal fertility surge.

Well, it shouldn't be difficult to prove or disprove. Has any research been done?