I'm wondering how much autism is familial and how much is paternal age related etc.?

Question

I have heard that only a small percentage of autism is familial autism, meaning the dad was in his twenties and there were other relatives or siblings who are autistic.

Anybody know how much is related to father's 33 and above with no family history?

So many genetic disorders have both paternal age and familial versions.

http://ageofthefatherandhealthoffuture.blogspot.com/

What do you think about the latest from
Pub Med???
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17346999&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

Answer 1

And how much is a combination of the both?

And how much do external factors influence a child's likelihood of becoming autistic? (Vaccinations would be one theory)

I don't understand how the father's age factors into the equation. I wonder if it could be "familial" AND paternal age related. A father could inherite a gene which is more fragile & more likely to not be duplicated properly as he is older. IF that is the case, it could be both - not either/or.

And since 25% of all autistic children developed normally for the first year then regress before the 2nd b-day, that may imply something external triggers the autism.

And there seem to be different genes involved in male autism versus female autism. That is why it is especially rare to have male female autistic children in the same family.

So with the different levels of autism, different age onsets of autism, different genders and all the other differences out there, the familial factor, paternal age factor & external factors may weigh in differently.

So rather than answer your question, I just brought in more questions.

Confusing, heh?

Answer 2

Alex, I'm not going to get into it with you again about autism causation theories. Based on your previous questions, it does seem like you are on a mission to find the cause of autism but Y!A is not the best place for this. It's great you want to learn so much about it so I applaud you.
I have studied it extensively since my son's diagnosis 4 1/2 years ago and have found mostly misinformation out there. A very good friend of mine has his PhD in biomedical research and has had a lot of work published (not autism related). I've asked him about how a work gets credibility and he told me the biggest thing is whether or not the study has been peer reviewed and gains a consensus among others in that particular field. About the only credible online source where you'll find a lot of published peer reviewed studies is pubmed.com. There are many studies on autism published there. I haven't come across any dealing with your question but the consensus seems to be that those conditions falling on the austism spectrum are rooted in genetics vs environment.
Just be careful about getting information from biased sources because with autism, there is a lot of bias and confusion. Whenever there is confusion, someone will try to capitalize on it to further their agenda. I wouldn't put too much stock into answers from Y!A. Hope you find what you're looking for. There's tons of info but mostly bad out there.

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The study you cited is looking at various factors contributing to various learning disabilities. It does not focus on autism exclusively or paternal age exclusively. So far as these factors relate to autism specifically, I am interested but at this time, I ramain skeptical as them being the underlying causes of autism. I believe a broader definition of the autistic condition has included many more people on the spectrum. This is the most likely reason for the increase in incidence. As it relates to my situation specifically, I believe our genetics make our son who he is. Both sides have past and present family members who fall on the spectrum. All who have birthed children did so before age 30 (including fathers). Of course, my personal situation does not represent all people but it does keep me skeptical of new causation theories that have not been held to much scrutiny. Given enough time (and autism is a hot topic now in research), science will find out what makes autistic individuals autistic. As of now, the leading reason is genetics. When the genes are identified, that will open a whole new can of worms and that's the part that scares me.

Answer 3

I have a grandson who is high functioning autistic. Autism is a very complicated neural condition that covers a multitude of conditions. Diagnosis is sometimes difficult to diagnose if it is not too severe.The best thing to do is to have the person diagnosed by a professional .People with autism require a good network of experts . Care should be looked for as quickly as possible. There are many good sites to look at , but be aware that not is all correct.Autistic people tend to be very intelligent even if you can't make a connection with them.They are also very focused in what they do.

Answer 4

My son has severe autism. My husband was in his twenties when my son was born. We have an older son who is not disable. We have no other relatives who are autistic. My son changed after his first DPT shot.

Answer 5

Autism is caused by a larger than average brain. I don't know if it is family related.