To just remind you that autism is genetic?

[robotgun]

Research tells us that 60 to 90% of the risk for autism comes from your genome. Maternal and paternal age are also a significant factor. Also genetic variants exist that cause autism-like behaviours and go undiagnosed because we don't routinely run genetic tests on our children. We also don't routinely institutionalise children that are different to their peers.

There's 'more' autism because people are having babies at older ages. And we are better at spotting autism.

It isn't heavy metals, microplastics, or the MMR.

Sorry, but it seems like every day I open this app and there's a new post saying 'What's going on with all this autism around, eh?' and a slew of replies blaming environmental factors that have no science behind them whatsoever. Or, worse, blaming mothers for reproducing too late in life or eating tuna in pregnancy or taking prescribed meds.

If you see enough of these threads every day you could well start to believe the nonsense that people write, much like people that read the Daily Mail every day start to believe that Meghan Markle is the devil.

Autism has always been here. It's not better or worse than it used to be.

They're the same thing!

It’s definitely more recognised these days - I agree, in the past people were ‘eccentric’, ‘a bit odd’… nowadays they’d be recognised as autistic. I am (but didn’t realise until my 30s - at school I was just ‘gifted’ and didn’t fit in). My mum certainly is, and my granddad. I think today’s society, for all the recognition and acceptance of different neurotypes, is really hard to live in if you’re not a neurotypical extrovert. People used to have more ‘alone time’, pressures of work/earning were less, there were more social rules (formality/politeness), life was quieter and less overwhelming in general.

Not just my daughter- my son has x2 diagnosis and so do her cousins. You said autism was a “catch all for so many people” “these days”.That is incorrect. You will not get a diagnosis for autism to cover all the other neurodiversities I listed. They may overlap in some areas but they differ and if you don’t meet the threshold for autism you won’t get a diagnosis. If you don’t meet the threshold for ADHD you won’t get a diagnosis…. etc

Examples of undiagnosed autism/ADHD in my family history:

Paternal aunt has diagnosis of BP. Sensitive child, prone to emotional outbursts. ECT as an adult. Anorexia.

Paternal grandfather: addicted to cigs and alcohol, ‘twitchy’, lots of vocal and motor tics, chronic anxiety.

Mum: can’t sit still, butterfly mind, tells stories from the middle, anxiety, won’t let anyone else relax, underachieved as a child (couldn’t concentrate).

Maternal grandmother: type B personality disorder, extreme need for order and control.

etc.

I've not read the whole thread but I'm sure I'm not the only one to observe that neuro diverse people tend to stick together ie. breed and have Neuro divergent children. I speak from personal experience with my family. There's loads of us on both sides! We're all pretty great. It's society that tells us we're not. It's becoming so common even the name Neuro divergent might have to be changed one day. Diagnosis is better and the wide range of autistic spectrum signs is becoming more understood. That said, I had a colleague recommend to me that I try this herbal medicine for my kids to remove the heavy metals that were causing their Autism. She was a medical professional!

Actually, prescribed meds can cause autism. My DS's epilepsy meds when prescribed to women can lead to women giving birth to children with a higher incidence of autism.

My brother is autistic, highly functioning but limited, his 3 sons are all diagnosed too.

I suspect I am somewhere on the spectrum too, my DH is undiagnosed but definitely autistic, as is his mum and grandfather.

As such, I decided not to have children.

I don't think I would have enjoyed being a parent but also I didn't want the risk of a highly dependent autistic child, or have a child that finds the world so hard to navigate, it's hard enough as it is.

When British Telecom Research moved to Ipswich in the70s it brought with it a noticeable increase in autistic children.

The good thing about these threads is that experienced commonalities are raised that one day might be worth researching. We are all like one big untapped resource really. I read on a thread not so long ago about someone who was convinced there was something about autism/polycystic ovary syndrome and BP- just as someone up thread mentioned autism and migraines. The more we discuss these things without fear of being jumped on, the better we can support each other. I would like to see research into the role hormones play for instance.

Its a mixture of stuff. Past history, mannerisms, speech patterns, body language.. when my DS when through the process there is a lot of questioning of the parent, so i spent enough time in his company that he could spot traits.

There was also my medical history that they went into, our family history (my brother was diagnosed with Aspergers when we were in our early 20s) and so on. The Dr was also an up and coming 'expert' on how it presents in women which had come on in leaps and bounds in recent years.

just from my personal experience with family/friends amongst the disabled community i am part of.

Autism/ADHD tends to also come with very high incidences of Hypermobility, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Migraines, PCOS, eczema, Fibromyalgia, Asthma, Allergies, and Arthritis.

Most, if not all, have a mixture of those.

If you are autistic what are the chances of you having an autistic child?

Maybe inflammation is an aspect to be considered then?

Possibly, i also missed off POTS and Dysautonomia.

There definitely seems to be a physical something happening alongside it.

I don't know, but I do know about my family - it's run in my mother's side of the family for at least six generations. From anecdotal evidence (letters etc - it was called "the family problem", and each generation taught the next how to hide it...or, in modern parlance, "mask"), roughly 80% of her side of the family were autistic (with varying levels of what would now be called "support needs"), regardless of who the partner was.

That's pretty much borne out in my direct family; of myself and three siblings, only one is not autistic.

People who are autistic, or people who have autism in the family?

I'm pretty sure DH is autistic and he's asthmatic, but his sister (who is NT) has Type I diabetes, hypothyroidism and a bunch of other immune-related health problems - I just assumed there was a family history of autoimmune disease.

We have an unusually-smart friend (a neurodivergence in of itself) who has Type I diabetes, but isn't autistic or neurodivergent in any diagnosable way.

My autistic DS4 is hypermobile, which he apparently gets from DH's dad, who I think is autistic. However, my autistic DS7 isn't hypermobile and neither am I. Apparently, 1 in 15 people are hypermobile, but only 1 in 33 are autistic.

My brother-in-law is neurotypical and has a rare genetic disease, which he's passed onto one of DCs cousins. 1 in 15 people apparently have a rare disease.

I have a weird immune abnormality, which I think I got from my dad, who I'm pretty sure was autistic. My DS7 seems to have it too. It's life-altering for me, but only because I also have endometriosis, which is present in 1 in 10 women (most of whom aren't autistic).

Point is that, once you start looking for disabilities/diseases, loads of people have them. If you know 10 autistic people, some of them will also be asthmatic/diabetic/hypermobile/have arthritis. I think the autistic people who don't have co-associated conditions probably don't talk as much about being autistic. Elon Musk is apparently autistic, but that's not what most people focus on.

I'm sure I read that a child with a diagnosis has an 85% of inheriting it from one parent ( often undiagnosed).

As for the other issues all of my kids have been diagnosed or awaiting diagnosis. My dad very likely has it, as does his brother. All 3 of my nephews and my grandsons are showing symptoms and awaiting diagnosis . But I also have it. I also have several autoimmune issues, arthrtits, bipolar and horrific allergies. Lots of allergies within my family.

My BF,
her brother is bi-polar
she suffered post-partum psychosis tho has no MH issues other than the post baby. (Tho is very aware she is at risk again at menopause as it’s obviously hormonal).
Husband NT, though an architect which apparently one of the fields some think “linked” she was told - something about highly visual or something. I’ll see if I can get her to post.

One child NT
One child, from young age Autism diagnosis, though since about age 11, diagnosis changed to not Autism. He does not seem classic autism to me, but there is something going on with no “label”. (A diagnosis of asd helps get support for ehcp so perhaps there is helpful Drs diagnosis to help kids get services)

we all bring complex mix with our genetics, and then there are chromosome deletions/duplications that can be inherited, due to defective egg/sperm, or just errors at conception.
When you think about what happens at conception, it a miracle that anything goes right at all!

Neighbors adult son, XXY, Kleinfelters. Which is not inherited as XXY men no sperm. He is/was “mild autism” but now the adult KS diagnosis makes sense. He still seems to have some difficulties - no eye contact, communication difficulties/misunderstanding. He is married, diagnosed at fertility clinic.

Yet another, XXY man I know is very high level executive in Sales, very very good communicator. (Also diagnosed at fertility clinic)
So, maybe not the XXY - but something else entirely.

If it's mostly genetic why is it becoming more prevalent?

Because diagnosis is now better, traits in girls are now recognised and those that should have been diagnosed years ago are now being diagnosed often after it be is highlighted in their children.

Marscapn3 · Today 12:30
bigvig · Today 12:27
If it's mostly genetic why is it becoming more prevalent?
Because diagnosis is now better, traits in girls are now recognised and those that should have been diagnosed years ago are now being diagnosed often after it be is highlighted in their children.

Its also because diagnostic criteria have been expanded. Levels of difference/impairment that would not have been considered significant/complete enough to meet earlier diagnostic criteria (say DSM 3) are considered sufficient for diagnosis under DSM 5.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-021-04904-1#:~:text=Autism%20in%20DSM%2DIII,emphasizing%20characteristics%20of%20young%20children.

This is quite interesting in talking through the development of autism diagnoses over time.

Because so many of us were dismissed with depression, OCD, etc

What medication is this? DM if you don’t want to say.

Because, as I mentioned earlier, we're ostracised less as society begins to accept us more. That means we have more opportunity to reproduce than we previously would have.

At least, that's part of it. The somewhat belated realisation in the medical community that autistic children become autistic adults (shocker, I know) has also contributed, so we're going through a correction period where many generations of people are being diagnosed later in life when they "should" have been diagnosed as children. Self-evidently, though, this is a one-off event.