What would be your advice about preventing autism? Does the age of the father matter?

Question

If you have a child with autism would you recommend having additional children?

Other studies, than the one on the Israelis have shown that the biggest risk factor for autism is having it in the family and paternal age is only relevant when there is no family history of the spectrum.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16108999&query_hl=10&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=10732302&query_hl=12&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=6927656&query_hl=14&itool=pubmed_docsum

What about prevention for the sake of the suffering that someone with autism must go through rather than what you might feel as the parent?

Answer 1

I question the methodology, reliability and validity of the Israeli study.
So far, no one has been able to isolate the cause of Autism. However, research has been able to determine that it tends to run in families.
If I had a child with Autism, I don't know if I'd have more kids. I know how hard it is to teach kids with Autism, but I don't have any idea how difficult it is to be the parent.

Answer 2

As a person who works in a school, I shouldn't say this but I suggest that you go with Bob's answer. As for the raging debate about if Autism is an educational or a medical diagnosis, the answer is its both. If you want a medical or clinical diagnosis of autism, you should have a comprehensive (and muy expensive) evaluation done by a psychologist who specialzes in this area. The evaluation should not be a 10 minute waiting room eyeball of the child but a thorough evaluation (cognitive ability, sensory aspects, speech, language, behavior, adaptive behavior). The best evaluation would also include the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule which sets up social situations designed to elicit behaviors common to children with autism. If you want an educational eligibility, you could let the school do the evaluation. The chances are, it will not be as rigorous or thorough. Most school psychologists are not trained specifically in diagnosing autism (though there are some like me who are). The up-side is this evaluation would be free. Clinically, it sounds more like your son may have asperger's syndrome instead of the classic autism because his language is well developed. The criteria for that is that includes difficulty with social interaction and some type of repetitive behavior and restricted interest. Bottom line, I would let the school do the evaluation because it is free. It is likely they will eyeball your kid and use a few checklists. If you do not feel comfortable with that, then I would refuse to sign the IEP paperwork and insist that an independent evaluation be done (at the school's expense). Use the advocate as well.

Answer 3

I agree 100% with Dena. Vaccinate very carefully, especially if there is a family history of disorders of the immune system and allergies. I have no doubt that, for a certain subset of our population, the ramped up vaccine protocol of the 1990's has caused neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. I would also look at the risk posed by each of the diseases before opting to vaccinate. For instance, there is no reason a newborn should receive a hepatitis B shot unless there is a risk of transmission by the mother. Hep-B is an STD! Also, I would never again opt for the varicella (chiken pox) vaccine unless my child was a teenager and still had not caught chicken pox naturally.

As for diet, I would probably not introduce dairy or wheat for the first two years. I have a son with Asperger's and he made great progress once taken off those foods.

As for having another child, I would say yes! Since I know my son's Asperger's is related to his disordered immune-gut system, I would take the above precautions and happily welcome another child into my life:) I don't believe that paternal age is a major factor.

Answer 4

You can't prevent autism but you can minimise the risk by doing a few things. First, vaccinate very carefully. There's an excellent book that teaches you how to vaccinate in the least harmful way. It's called "What your doctor doesn't tell you about vaccinations," by Dr. Stephanie Cave.
2nd, breast feed as long as you can - it helps the immune system get and stay strong.
3rd, go light on the dairy and wheat. If there's a history of problems (autism, add/hd, or coeliac) in the family, cut them out altogether. Use Vance's DariFree potato milk (after breastfeeding ends), as this is the healthiest and tastiest of all milk substitutes. It also cooks well in recipes.
4th, if you do suspect problems, get assessments done asap; waiting a year to do them does not help your child.
If you do have a child with autism, and you want more children, take the chance -- it's a small enough risk that it's worth it!

Answer 5

Autism is something that there is not enough research yet to draw any conclusive conclusions.
Any disorder that involves the brain is still a mystery. There are men in their 60's having children who are not Autistic.
I teach several children with varying degrees of Autism and they are all a delight.
If you worry about what the child will be like before he/she is born how will you be able to enjoy the wonder of the child's own individual personality after they are born?

Answer 6

I had several children after having two with autism. They are neurotypical. I read the study about the age of father affecting autism. I am reluctant to accept that as good science, considering the cohort in the study was a small group of isolated genetics (a hundred men from Israel? How is that inclusive science?) There are several suspected genetic and environmental causes, so I don't know how you could predict what the causation would be for any family.

Additionally a large family is a wonderful resource, we have a large loving family, and lots of built in interaction for our autistic children. Also as we get older, we have family members who understand our autistic children and will be able to care for them after we're dead.

Answer 7

You can not prevent autism. It's not the age of a father or mother that causes it. Autism has a link to the immunizations that children are forced to get as well as environmentally linked. We have so many chemicals in the air, in our food, and that are used around the home.

Answer 8

The whole thing about the age of the father is ridiculous, the study wasn't even conducted by a scientist, but by a mathmetician, if I remember right. For those of us in the autism community, it's been discussed to death since that came out and there are very few of us that had husbands that were older than their 30's.

As to your first question, my advice is stay away from vaccines (and if you insist on being brainwashed by the medical community and decide to pursue them, at least demand mercury-free vaccines, and break them up into smaller amounts.) And no, my son wasn't affected by them because I learned about the dangers before I ever thought of being a mom, so he's never had them. They just INCREASE the chances of them getting it, but aren't a cause in and of themselves. Rid your house of the poisonous chemicals that we insist we need to clean. There are safer products out there that are so safe you don't even have to take them the er if they swallow them,so you know they're safer for brain development and health. Or, use old-fashioned vinegar, water and baking soda, depending on what you're cleaning. It seems of very little coincidence to me that every year there's more and more options of chemicals to expose our families to, and the numbers for autism have increased over the years. That really is all we can do to PREVENT autism, unless we just play God and stop having kids. Because they don't have solid answers on what causes autism (I believe it's a combination of things), there really can not be solid steps to prevent it, just to lower the chances of it occuring.
For the third question:
Yes, I have 4 1/2 yr old child with autism, and a 2 yr old who is completely 'normal'. We are planning on a third very soon. I was already pregnant with my second when it became obvious that my 1st had autism, so I couldn't do much about it. Over the course of two years, we've mulled this over, wondering the same thing you ask. But, there was no way around the answer we kept coming to, and that's it's not OUR place to decide to have children or not to. Any person out there can have a child with autism, cancer, CP, Down's Syndrome. Any one of us can have a child with any number of birth defects, but nobody can say for sure when that will happen, or if. So, what do we do? Do we let fear rule our life, and miss out on the blessings? I cannot imagine my life without Tim, and even with his problems, he is a very happy little boy who LOVES life! What right do I have to deny him that? Yes, he will always have struggles. But, so do all of us! They just come in different forms. Some of us struggle with abuse from parents or spouses, some with addictions. Some of us are dirt poor and don't have a place to live. Some of us have heart conditions, suffere from migraines. Life isn't perfect, and if we start deciding to have kids based on that, then for one thing we're going against what God designed us to do, and second, what a lonely, sad life that would be to be that paranoid. NOT every person who has one autistic child will have more. Yes,there is a higher chance of it happening again, but it's not a definite. Nothing about autism is definite. And for me, a deciding factor in whether I have more kids or not, it HAS TO BE definite. Does that make sense? I hope this doesn't come across that I'm yelling at you, it's just that I'm passionate about this topic, because I live with it day in and day out. You know... there's worse things my son could have than autism. I'm thankful that's all he has.

Answer 9

Autism seems (we don't know for sure) to be a mental or brain chemistry thing. I don't think you can prevent it or cure it with simple home remedies.

Once it happens or occurs you have to deal with it and do special handling.

We may know more in the future. Right now, we are at a loss.

Answer 10

I saw a medical show on TV, they believe the shots given to the children entering into schools are causing autism the child seems to show signs of autism after recieving these shots.