ASD / Autism - What do you think caused it in your family?

[Wanderingthoughts]

Inspired by my own experience and talking to two friends who's children are autistic.

My DS, 8, diagnosed ASD (formerly Aspergers, geeky-intelligent type). I think comes from his father (my ex). Their ASD traits are very similar and I think his father would definitely be diagnosed. DS also has ADHD which I think comes from me (I have lots of traits) and this is his primary diagnosis and much more prominent. So in our case, I lean towards genetic, although I was anaemic during pregnancy, had a low lying placenta and DS was born via induction and ventouse.

I'm pregnant with DC2, this time a girl, and my current DP has no ASD traits, and none I can see from anyone in his family. I am, however, anaemic again and this time facing having an iron infusion as the tablets haven't worked. I've read some research that low iron in pregnancy can be a potential cause of autism.

My friend has a 3 children, only one (DS2) is diagnosed Autistic. He has a more classical presentation, non-verbal, developmentally delayed and requiring a special school. She feels his autism comes from a long and traumatic birth, and she has no family history of ASD.

Ditto for another friend, she also has 3 children, and her DS1 is both Autistic and has learning difficulties. Her other two children are unaffected. Similar to my first friend, she thinks the cause of his autism was a long and difficult labour and birth trauma. No family history of ASD, although I can see some ASD traits in her DH!

What do you think the cause, if any, in your personal family experience?

Sorry, this was a reply to Eggs2023

The problem here is that ‘autism’ is used too broadly. It’s used for kids with a specific set of symptoms from birth injuries, medical / food reactions, genetic causes, and also because the doctor doesn’t know what’s wrong only that something is wrong (and so uses autism as a placeholder). Occasionally it’s misdiagnosed because doctors don’t have the full picture - eg some symptoms being due to ‘severe’ anxiety / ptsd responses etc.

DD has autism. I had a normal pregnancy and birth with her. I was anemic but I have a trait so it’s inevitable. No trauma. She breastfed like a dream. She was a quiet, happy, content baby. But she didn’t talked, didn’t toilet train, and didn’t interact until we paid a lot of money for private consultancy in another country. And then she seemed to improve overnight. She now displays mild to autism symptoms. She’s a good example of why diagnosing autism appropriately is important — I do believe she has autism which is why she responded to treatments. But the same treatment might not work for someome who had the same symptoms as her due to birth injuries.

It’s genetics.
Most people of previous generations wernt diagnosed or recognised so parents / grandparents would have just as been seen as different, struggled at school, geeky perhaps or socially awkward. It’s only now, looking back that the signs are all clearly there for many family’s in their parents / grandparents.

Possibly in the early days of criterion being developed there would have been overlapping incidences of boys with other genetic conditions (fragile X, Angelmans, Prader-Willi) being given an autism diagnosis.

However, interestingly a number of the original criteria in Kanners assessment is still on the criteria of the ADOS, so he definitely was headed in the right direction, but obviously now medicine can scan and test for conditions that might crossover with autism.

I think that medicine has developed far enough that the probability of an incorrect autism diagnosis in favour of a genetic syndrome or TBI in pregnancy or immediately postnatally is extremely unlikely.

Genetics. Long line of massive brained socially awkward academics.

I think it's genetic.

My daughter has autism. The pregnancy was complicated, I had a blood clot and gestational diabetes. She was delivered with breathing difficulties and suspected sepsis, which responded to antibiotics in ICU. I have been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, which includes autism traits for some. I wonder if that explains the situation we find ourselves in.

Also, pre micro-array and WES genetic screening many if not all conditions were diagnosed in the same way, by looking for common features, behaviours etc and eliminating any candidates that fell out of a very narrow criteria. That’s how diabetes was first diagnosed, by observing the same symptoms in patients, onset and outcome (death).

My ex husband was undiagnosed autistic/ADHD, I could write a book about how difficult he was to live with. We had a baby after many years of marriage and guess what? DS is the same. However, I have often wondered about the impact of my age when I had him. I was 42. I have definitely noticed an increase in autism when parents are older. It may be entirely coincidental but many of the groups and courses I have attended had parents who had had their children later in life. I have been asked to take part in some genetic research but would need ex-h to cooperate and he won't. Funnily enough, his own father has also been diagnosed in his 70's. That did not come as a surprise at all.

Genes can't be the whole story. The massive increases in the numbers of autistic people, and the elevated rates in some places (eg Singapore, New York ) compared to others (Kentucky, Virginia) suggest there is more to it.

Some kids definitely seem to be born with it. Other kids seem to develop it

I don't think there's a massive increase in numbers of people. There's a massive increase in diagnosis. It's only recently been properly understood and diagnosed. As children get diagnosed, parents think hang on, that's me too. They get doagnosed as do their own parents. In my generation, there was no such thing as diagnosis for ADHD. So we are catching up.

As to higher levels in Singapore, NYC - there could be logical reasons for that -

Genetics.

I'm more likely to have it due to my rare neurological condition. I'm the only female in the family (to my knowledge) that has it. Several males on both sides have it

Genetics. Autism mainly from my dad and his family. My mum and her family have ADHD. I haven't been diagnosed with ADHD but i have a few traits. My dc have ASD and ADHD, etc. Their dad and his family have both ASD and ADHD too.

Ds’s birth was very long and difficult. He was eventually born via ventouse delivery. I blamed myself initially. It’s only as he’s got older and I’ve gained much more knowledge about autism that I learnt I was autistic myself and can recognise that other family members probably are too.

There is nothing kind about suggesting that someone need seek "help"

My DD WASN'T induced, I said she should have been: in fact she was born post term at 43 weeks. This may have meant there was some placental inadequacy.

There has been a link shown between post term birth and higher incidence of neurological difference and psychiatric diagnoses within the first 7 years.

https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-020-1950-4

Genetics. It goes right through my dad's side of the family.

I'm autistic, so are my dad and his older sister (and one of her DC). Their dad and one of his children from his second marriage are also on the spectrum.

Have to say that none of the older generation in our families have been diagnosed but it's as clear as day, especially after our own diagnosis. We're like mirrors for each other in many ways. We are an ND family for sure and it's from generations to generations, including grandparents, siblings, nieces and nephews, uncles and aunts, etc.

I thought it was genetic but also quite a lot more likely with older parents. Older fathers as well as older mothers.

Genetics without a doubt

DD has ASD and ADHD without learning difficulties. She was conceived via IVF (as was DS who is NT) and born at 39 weeks. I had gas and air in labour but no interventions. DD was fully bf until 6 months.

It is genetic. My MIL would now probably have ASD, FIL and DH both have ADHD, my dad has ASD...

Having my 8 year old son who has “severe” autism has made me realise I am myself. Pretty sure my dad was too.

It's mostly genetic. But the thing is that if there are a lot of ND people in your family, they won't notice you being different.

I have autism throughout my family from my dads side. 2/4 children have a diagnosis and I also do but wasn't diagnosed until I was 37. Before that I was wrongly diagnosed with other things.

Autistic kids don't just fall out of the sky. I know two sets of identical twins where they all have autism. That's a good indicator as any that genetics is key.

ADHD is now thought to be linked to insecure attachment.

I dont know.

I have a theory that I had swine flu when pregnant and this caused a heap of complications and some of those complications, like delivering early, are associated with an increased risk of autism. My son seems to have so many things new to our family like a nut allergy, a sight dosorder, a connective tissue thing.

But that said I can see very strong adhd signs in my husbands family.