If you had one SEN DC

[user24197]

Did any of your subsequent children also have SEN?

My dc is autistic and I'm just interested to know if it is likely my next will also have it. I'm not sure how much genetics actually does contribute so looking for responses from others..

Eldest is NT, middle is AUDHD and youngest ASD - he has a gene deletion also. Myself and their dad don’t have the same gene deletion but dad has ADHD and I am pretty sure I am AUDHD too, not diagnosed.

I read somewhere once that ND people are drawn to one another. Now that my eyes have been opened to an ND world, or a small part of it, I think that’s true, for me and my immediate family at least.

You’re disgusting.

@user24197 have you or DC had any genetic testing? It doesn’t always show up anything but if any genetic differences found, it might give you an idea about future children.

Eldest autistic with high support needs
Second prob ADHD
3rd might be autistic but manages life perfectly well
4th NT.

That’s not true, it’s quite well known that the causes of neurodivergence can be environmental as well as genetic - often a combination of the two.

https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/environmental-risk-autism-explained/

There is a link between premature birth and neurodivergence (I did an ADHD screening which specifically asked if I was premature - which I was) and it makes sense, IMO, that a traumatic birth could also cause neurodevelopmental issues.

DS1 is diagnosed autistic, dyspraxic and dyslexic.

DS2, I'm open-minded... I don't think he's autistic, but he is quirky and a bit sensory. He has a dyslexia diagnosis and quite a spiky profile in some areas. If anything, I'd say inattentive ADHD, and he reminds me a lot of me and I have my suspicions about myself. I haven't sought referral yet as I'm not sure there's a clear enough case. I wouldn't rely on his school noticing because they couldn't spot it in DS1 despite the diagnosis on NHS letterheaded paper, and he was far more obvious, much younger.

They have ND cousins, and I think there's a lot of undiagnosed neurodiversity in DH's family (but not him, but it's culturally "normal" to him IYSWIM). I also think there's a lot of undiagnosed neurodiversity in my paternal family. Most of my friends have some form of being ND or "difference". I don't feel like I've got a great barometer for spotting NT people!

I've heard it theorised (and I don't know if it's true) that there is a higher incidence of traumatic births of autistic children, and that autism could be a factor in circumstances such as postitioning that can make birth harder such as being back to back.

With a child that jumbles if he's hot or cold and other sensory and co-ordination issues, it seems credible that his instincts to position himself optimally to go through the birth canal went awry.
Or it could be my pelvis and SPD (pubic, not sensory, we collect SPDs 😁) and my postioning in the late stages of pregnancy.

I thought it was an interesting way round as it resonated with my births anyway, and that the autism influenced the birth, rather than birth influencing autism.

I've always been asked about the birth so there is professional interest in the two.

I taught 3 kids from a family of 4. Child A had some obvious asd attributes, but managed perfectly well work wise, Child B had a few but very capable academically and socially. We mentioned both to their mum who would not accept any issues. Found she was having a boy (3rd) child, started to acknowledge as DH nephew was diagnosed as asd, her DH was suspected asd and she was aware that in reality probability was that child a and b had asd. Child c came along and was wonderful, he was friendly and chatty, but had difficulties at time. All 3 kids were capable and would all make their way in the world without any need for ongoing support . Not sure about child d as I left before he came through.
Had another young child who was diagnosed asd at 2 who was the only one , as far as I'm aware , with asd in their family although I never met dad and he was rarely mentioned by their mum.

If neurodivergence is primarily genetic in a straightforward GCSE biology type way (bearing in mind that many inherited traits are not), I would assume that the chance of having all ND or a mix of ND and NT offspring to any particular couple would be affected by whether it was one or both of them that had the traits themselves?

Your second has a considerably higher chance.
I don’t think it’s really clear on heritable patterns because until recently the diagnostic criteria were geared towards a certain type of presentation and there are huge number of adults and females probably living without ND diagnoses. If one child is diagnosed and people think the siblings or parents are ‘a bit quirky’ or ‘have a couple of traits but don’t think they’re ND’ the likelihood is that they are also ND isn’t it?!

Opposite for me.

I have several friends who have children with ASD and family members too, out of 9 families only one has more than one child with ASD.

yes autism is genetic, if you have one child diagnosed with autism i'm surprised you have not received genetic counselling.
the odds are 2-18% chance the second child may have autism as well as per a quick google.

Nobody knows what causes autism

Some families it's clear that the parents are ND or have traits and then have autistic kids.

Other families it seems to be a new thing.

Ex's parents seemed NT as does his sister. Him, not so much. (Premie)

My dad seemed autistic, looking back. I am, both kids are. There are other autistic kids on my dad's side.

My mum's side there was a cousin with dyslexia. We're all very bendy and hypermobile in some form which is linked to higher rates of autism.

If you have traits you might be autistic in which case it's more likely that you will make autistic children.

@SamiaLee1984 what bloody evil things to say. You're an absolute disgrace.

I have 5 dc and 3 are autistic. The other 2 have other ND conditions. Dh and I are both ND so our chances of having an NT child is minimal.

I've heard this too. Out of my 3 autistic children ds2 was back to back and ds5 was brow presentation. Ds1 was positioned fine, although he did have the cord round his neck.

yes. DC1 has asd and severe learning difficulties. DC2 has HF ASD, a host of mental health issues and an eating disorder. No ASD in our wider families...

I have 5DC and of our 5,2 of our DC are autistic DS22 and DD15.

Dds autism is alot worse than DSs bless her.

My son has asd. After his diagnosis we realised dd is likely to have adhd. I have asd (diagnosed after son)

Op there's a link between perinatal injuries and oxygen deprivation and neurodevelopmental disorders, but it's possible that the difficulties were already stemming from the genetics and so the neural differencies of the baby i.e. hypotony.

One of pps has already written the statistics: 1 in 5 families are multiplex which likely means that in their case it's passed genetically to the kids. Parents don't have to be autistic for this, at all, because you can be a sort of asymptomatic carrier. Of course if there's autism in your family the risk being a carrier is much higher.

But you don't know which type (multiplex or simplex) you belong until you have 2-4 kids.

We're both NT DH and me, but DH has an adult cousin with aspergers whose DS has aspergers, too. We had no idea we had higher risk until both my 2 DCs were born. My DS has aspergers and severe ADHD and is a very difficult case since birth. My younger DC is in contrast very easy going despite likely also having something going on.

Surprisingly I don't know anyone else irl with multiple DCs with autism apart from us. It's a bit isolating.

@ellielliejjtiny - that's fascinating. I always joke that neither of my children (both autistic) knew the right way to be born: one was back to back; the other was breech. Both were turned before birth (the first by me using an NHS rocking chair, the second with manual manipulation), so their births didn't influence their development.

Do you have any links to more information on this?

Both my children are autistic. However, neither my DH nor I are autistic. It has perplexed me for years, but I think it can come from further back in the family (I suspect my FIL).

And DH was recently diagnosed with ADD, so we now know he's neurodiverse.

No autism on mine or DH’s side of family. DC1 NT, DC2 diagnosed with autism at 3 🤷‍♀️

I find this interesting as, looking at DH’s family there is clearly a lot of (undiagnosed) neurodiversity.

His mum’s father (DH grandfather) was very likely autistic. He had 6 children, 3 of whom are likely autistic (all probably Asperger’s in old terms). Two of those 3 had kids. One has 2 NT kids, one has 1 NT, 1 ASD (DH’s cousin, Asperger’s diagnosis). Of the 3 who are NT, they had a combined total of 8 children, 1 of whom is ND (also Asperger’s). So an autistic grandparent has produced 10 NT grandchildren, 2 ND.

So it seems based on that sample that both ND and NT parents can pass the ND trait to their kids, but it’s not guaranteed that they will do so. I think that is broadly reflective of the stats on a population level quoted on this thread. Obviously the chances will be increased if there is neurodivergence on both sides.