How many of you have more than 1 child with ASD?

[Sassymom]

Thats it. I have a 4 month old, & I know its kinda dumb, but I'm just wondering what the chances are that he will have it as well as his older brother.

I have 3 children (all boys) eldest is severely autistic. Younger 2 are fine. We were very careful with them though, and ds3 gives a lot of indications that he "should" be autistic (in terms of biomedical tests etc). We had a few ideas of what might have triggered ds1's autism (obviously there was a genetic effect which we assumed the other 2 boys were likely to have as well, but in ds1's case and considering our family history it seemed to be more of a susceptibility to autoimmune type things rather than autism). So we avoided the potential environmental triggers as much as possible (basically vaccinations, mercury, antibiotics, and gluten- later we cut down on fresian cows milk for ds3 switching to goats instead (or guernsey- hard to get geurnsey without jersey though).

Whether considering avoiding anything makes any sense at all in your case will depend on family history etc, and what you think may have happened in your ds' case.

I have 3 boys... 13,11 and 7.

the older 2 are diagnosed with ASD and the eldest also has ADHD.
the youngest is being 'considered' and assessed.I parent them all in what i call 'the ASD way'.

I can see ASD traits in many of my family members...and that it why i am not suprised i have 3 ASD boys.

My brother became a dad in november- and his daughter doesn't smile much...and reminds me so much of my ds2 at the same age....

well i have three children two DDs and 1 DS and they all have autism, DH is AS but not DX

worth mentioning that personally I see broadly speaking two types of autism. Type 1- has lots of autistic type behaviour in the family (usually HFA/AS)- strong genetic link, lots of "odd uncles" etc - then type 2 (where I think we fall). Absolutely no autism in the family at all (dxed, or undxed) but lots of autoimmunity- type 1 diabetes, MS both in close family relatives in our case. Often in "type 2" families when autism hits it's at the severe end, non verbal or at least non conversational.

Always exceptions, but if you think you're type 2 then often biomed interventions can work well, might be worth considering gluten free etc as a preventative measure as well. Often type 2's seem to be more environmentally triggered.

Remember that's very broad though.

gess..that makes sense to me....i'd say that all the families i have met that have more than one ASD...its usually AS.....though ido know one mum with 2 clasic autism- twins- born premature etc...

i have 3 kids, 2 boys and one girl, both boys have AS/HFA, afaik dd is NT.i am AS but not dx

i know lots and lts of people who have more than one child but only one is autistic, likewise i know a few who have more than one.

clutter- I do think if ds3 had been our first child he would have been autistic, I think avoiding the triggers was essential iyswim.

I have 2 sons, ds2 has low functiong autism and ds1 has adhd and a number of aspergers traits but he hasnt been diagnosed with Autism yet.

i also know families where the eldest 'slipped through the net' as AS etc was not 'diagnosable' till relatively recently....and who then went on to have another child...who was picked up as AS....and then the parents realised that their 1st child is AS too.

Also i know a woman who's son i feel is AS (we become 'expert diagnosers!)...but at age 11 is just being labeled as 'difficult'...and she has a 4 yr old...just started school september....already refferd for assessment....and the mum cannot accept theres anything 'wrong' cos he's 'just like her eldest'....which just confirms my thoughts on her eldest.

difference now to even 10 years ago when my eldest was 3...back then... my son 'slipped throuh the net' till he was 9....and the theres my youngest who at 7 is getting more support in school without having been formally diagnosed....so personally...i'm all in favour for the earliest intervention...as ds1 at 13 is still not getting supporrt- whereas with ds3 they are already mumbling about his managing secondary school in 4 years.

sorry...slightly off original topic...but just wanting to try and explain that if it does happen that a subsequent child is ASD...theres more chance now of getting better help/support.

Hi there

We have the same concern as you at the moment and it seems it is unpredictable as to whether subsequent siblings are on the spectrum. We are certainly more cautious now of vaccinations and are more careful with diet but it is a worry right now!

Sorry to gatecrash thread but I was in interested in your comments Gess re: MS. Both dh and I have MS in our immediate family (dh - dad, me - mum). Is there any links between MS and autism?

Many thanks
Kirsty

Ds1 (6) and ds2 (4) both have AS/ASD. It's probably still too early to say for certain about dd (12mths) but I'm about 99% sure that she is NT. I've been watching out for traits but tbh I haven't seen anything yet.

(Hi CT....)

I have three DSs. DS1 has a dx of HFA, but is doing fantastically well now (he's seven). DS3 has a preliminary DX of social communication disorder, is being assessed atm and I expect an autistic spectrum diagnosis for him as well.

DS2 is nt but quite quirky.

I have a ds (9) who doesn't have 1 single trait of anything
Then there is dd (7) who has AS, language disorder and Adhd.

I can't see any history in the family and just feel that dd may have had a few triggers for hers. I had a car accident a few days before birth and she had lots of antibiotics for ear infections in her first year.

Ds2 has asd, ds1 and dd are nt. But we've both noticed 'traits' in ourselves, rellys and ds1, which we prob wouldn't have done were it not for ds2. Would agree re caution with gluten and casein, def a factor for ds2, but of course not necessarily for your ds.

thanks for the responces.....appreciated. Havent given the baby shots yet b/c still reading about shot/ asd connection. feel like a bad parent because of it, cant bear to see another one of my babies being ostrisized by peers because of developmental delays. Thanks again I have to do more research.