can a child have mild symptoms of autism because his father smoked marijuana?

Question

My darling great grandson has been dianosed with mild autisum. We have been told it could have been caused by his father's marijauna use and if it was, he may improve on his own. We want to do what we can for him but we need some hard facts.

Answer 1

Autism and fetal alcohol syndrome/effects have similar symptoms. In other words, children whose mothers consumed alcohol in crucial phases of pregnancy may appear to be autistic.

The proposed causes of autism are many and varied, but paternal marijuana use doesn't even seem to make the top 40.

Answer 2

The real answer is that we don't know yet. We do know that PARENTS DO NOT CAUSE PDD. Initially, in the 1950s, mothers were unfairly blamed for children with these difficulties, so it is important if you read older books, to know that we have since learned that parents and families do not cause these kinds of problems. In fact it would probably not be possible to 'make a child autistic' even if one tried!

Mothers' actions during pregnancy such as drinking or smoking do not cause PDD. Also events prior to getting pregnant do not seem related. Parents often wonder if their child's difficulties could have been caused by a fall they had, drugs they used when they were younger, returning to work too soon after the baby was born, an unplanned pregnancy etc., (or anything else a parent can manage to feel guilty about!). Studies indicate that these factors are generally unrelated to autism and PDD. It is important to go over your child's specific neonatal and birth history with a developmental pediatrician to explore any factors you may have concerns about.

PDD is a "biological" disorder. It may be helpful to think of PDD as being a form of learning disability, in the social and communication areas. There are many studies going on examining biological and structural aspects of the brains of people with autism, and there have been some promising findings, but so far there are not clear cut answers. It may be that there are several different causes that all result in a similar set of behavioral characteristics. It is about 4 times more common in boys than in girls.

Let me also say there are many many parents out there who have never smoked, drank, used illegal drugs (inhailing or not) and done all the "right" things during pregnancy including vitamins, sleep, their diet, and doctor appointments and tests. And their children have autism. There are drug addicts who have not been to a doctor done drugs and drank their whole pregnancy and their children are born and are fine. (YES, I too believe there may be more than just 1 cause)

When I searched autism and marijuana the only connections that came up was the use of medical marijuana in autistics to help with anxiety aggression moods etc. SO I do not see Marijuana being the CAUSE of a childs diagnosis.

Answer 3

That's an awful load of guilt to visit on a person! Autism is not fully understood, even the *mild* forms. There has been a lot of advancement in recent years, but please don't go hanging the father, if you have to come here, looking for an answer to why your great-grandson is afflicted with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Who told you that the use of marijuana would cause Autism? The psychiatrist? I don't think so. There's also a *rumor* that vaccinations cause Autism. It's ridiculous.

Answer 4

NO
Absolutely not.

I saw an interview on the Daily Show with this guy that wrote a book on how a lot of the shots they give to newborns are filled with chemicals that cause Autism. It's a proven fact that these vaccinations, among other unknown things, cause Autism, but no one is doing anything about it. It was really scary. He did an interview for 20/20 too, but it never aired because of some BS with the network and the drug companies or something.

I wish I could remember his name and the name of the book, but I really really really doubt that your grandson's father's pot smoking could really cause Autism.

Answer 5

Well, not enough is known about autism to know what causes it. Research is starting to show that there may be many different causes to autism. I have a 12 yo son with autism. Children with autism can improve, but not on their own, they need intensive therapy, both speech, occupational, and behavior.

I don't know who would've told you that it could've been told by his father's use of marijauna, and that he can improve on his own, but they are misinformed. Please don't add to the parent's stress that they are feeling by bringing this up to them, however well meaning you may be. They need your love and support right now, it's devastating to hear that your child has autism, even if it's a milder form of it. Trust me, they're going over everything they can think of to think what may have caused this, and it's the cruel hand of fate, that's it.

Here's a link to the Autism Society of America, they have some wonderful information on autism. You can best help your great grandson's family by becoming informed right now. Best of luck to your family. With the right help, your great grandson can improve and live a wonderful life.

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer

Answer 6

Or son was diagnosed 10 yrs ago. the best thing have done is to quit trying to figure out what caused it and start working on helping him learn. the sooner you start the better. Think about it . No matter what caused it he still needs therapy. Look into ABA and RDI.

In reply to PabDaniel: You are wrong to say that it is hereditary. That is still not known. It is more likely that there is a hereditary vulnerability with an environmental trigger such as mercury or others

Answer 7

You must get over the archaic idea that pot causes any kind of birth defect-it is total fallacy! Marijuana is an herb, go look on a search engine and get the true definition. Herbs have many many uses and almost zero side effects! The medications that doctors prescribe are far far worse than any herb ever can cause. Over he counter drugs are probably worse than marijuana. I highly doubt marijuana had anything to with it, i would assume genetics had allot to do with it not pot.

Answer 8

i honestly don't think so. Autism is hereditary and it could come from the mother's family side or the father's family side. If the father smoked marihuana when the mother was pregnant, then the fault comes down to the father because all the smoke goes to the mother and therefore, the baby.

Answer 9

No One really knows what causes Autism they're just speculating what they think causes it.

Answer 10

http://www.daylon.com/autism/

that's a link to a paper I wrote about autism.