Special ed .What age were the fathers of the autistic children you know at their birth?

Question

The CDC is not asking the question of father's age in their new $5.9 million study of 2,700 autisitc children. Shouldn't we find out if there are more autistic children born to older fathers so that we have the facts.

Advanced paternal age is the source of manygenetic mutations, it may very well be cumulative over more than one generation. Read James F.Crow, http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/94/16/8380

Answer 1

Most of the fathers of the autistic kids I work with are a little older, the youngest dad was about 36 when his kid was born, but there are a lot of much older dads, in their late forties, early fifties.

Answer 2

I've taught autistic children for 15 years. The ages of fathers has been all over ranging from 16 to mid 60's. This is a genetic disorder but there has to be an environmental trigger. Researchers at UCLA have recently identified a gene on chromosome 17 that is a factor; however, it has been determined that the gene only affects boys which might be why girls have a lower risk of being identified as autistic. I think earlier studies had ruled out the age of parents as a possible factor because it is definitely a factor in other neurological disorders. The only definite causes or links that are definitely known are genetics and high levels of metals in the system.

Answer 3

At my Daughters birth her Father was 20 years old.

In response though to some of the previous answers:
Autism is not KNOWN to be genetic.
There are five "fingers" or categories if you will of autism based on the severity of the individuals abilities (or lack there of).

*Not asking the Fathers age is perfectly reasonable due to the fact that paternal age has not shown a wide margin of regularity.

The fact that recently some DNA or genetic similarities have been discovered IS a big leap in the research process but it has not brought us any closer to a real understanding of "why" or how autism could in the future be prevented OR any possible "cure".

~My heartfelt thanks to the most recent benifit hosted by Mr. Jay Leno for the advancement of Autism awareness~

You can purchase Autism Awareness lapel pins, wrapping paper, ribbon, car magnets @
http://www.autismspeaks.org
or simply make a donation to the cause :O)

Answer 4

Autism is a varied and wide spectrum of conditions. The causes of autism are probably as varied as the individuals with the diagnosis. Genetic research will eventually account for many types of autism. For some genetic causes the ages of both parents may come into play because of degraded genetic material from parents increasing with age and or longer terms of exposure of the parents to situations that compromise their genetic material.

I would rather see research and implimentation of programs and therapies that focus on helping these children learn and develop successfully. We will always have autism with unknown causes or multiple causes -- why not focus on early intervention and educating these children?

What is the stated goal of the CDC study? Do you know for sure that they are not gathering parent age info? Many times data is gathered but not included in the initial published reports, but kept for future analysis in case the data are found to be significant.

Answer 5

The answer to this question really depends on what state you live in. I can tell you what happens here in Texas. 1st- the court does take insurance into effect when determing the amount of support to order. Therefore, if the amount that he pays for insurance was not computed into the orginal support amount then it is possible for him to have the support reduced. 2nd- The court can look at your son's medical condition when ordering support. In Texas we have standard child support guidelines that the courts use to determine the amount of support to order. However, courts are free to deviate from the guidelines when the child is in a condition that requires special consideration. This means that the court may actually order the father to pay above the guideline amount of child support (which helps go toward the added expenses that your child's condition requires). In order to convince the court to deviate from the guidelines it is important for you to carry medical records, misc. correspondence, receipts for medication (or diapers), etc. The more information that you have will help the court in making its determination. With this in mind, the court may look at the circumstances and recalculate the support taking into effect both the amount that he pays for insurance as well as the added expenses that your child's condition carries. The court can either lower the support to take into effect his insurance (this would not lower the support a significant amount due to the way that the support is calculated), leave the support the same (call it a wash because of his cost of insurance is about the same as your additional expenses because of his medical condition), or can even raise the support amount (due to deviating from the guidelines due to the medical condition). Hope that this helps.

Answer 6

I have 2 slightly autistic children. My husband was 24yrs with the first and 25yrs with the second. We have a friend who also has 2 autistic children and he was in his early 40's when they were born. I have a nephew who is also slightly autistic and his father was in his mid 30's. I don't feel the fathers age is a factor with this disability.

Answer 7

As far as I have read there is a correlation but that does not mean that paternal age caused it.

By changing the focus even slilghtly means they have a better understanding about this than they did even 5 years ago.

Answer 8

working with an autistic child, i find it uncomprehensible that we havent studied into it more extensively. i believe the little boy that i worked with was born when his dad was 50. his father had heart problems prior to conception, and i have always wondered if that could have been a contributing anything as well

Answer 9

The fathers and mothers are all ages.

Answer 10

I've met fathers as young as twenty and as old as mid fifties