Autism Running in Families. From Mom's side or Dads?

Question

My fiance has a son with autism by another woman, and we haven't told my parents about him because we're worried that my parents won't want me marrying him because of that child. Is there a chance that if we have a child that our child could have autism because the other son does, or does it run more in the Mother's side of the Family?

Answer 1

You should not be afraid to have kids if you want them. I treat my autistic son like a normal kid. It takes a great deal of patience and love to care for him. There is always a risk in any pregnancy to have complications that will lead to a disabled child. Many autistic kids have siblings, some are okay and others are not. mom or dad side, it doesn't matter. Autism affects mostly boys so you might consider having a girl instead. Most importantly, is to love your child no matter what. Volunteer to help disabled kids before getting pregnant so you can see if you can handle it, i wish you a happy marriage.
momwhoknows

Answer 2

Unfortunately, there are no answers as to what definitely causes autism and what definitely doesn't. They think genetics plays a key, but my son is the ONLY one in my entire family or my husband's that has autism. Don't let it stop you from having children, if you want them. Autism is not the end of the world. It's hard, but it's not the end of the world. Besides, every day, researchers get closer to the answers to solving this puzzle. If you are afraid and don't have the courage because of that fear, you could miss out on having a great life with some great kids. Don't let fear rule your life.

Answer 3

There has been no definitive answer on the cause of autism to date. 20-30 years ago, the chance of autism was 1 in 10,000 children. Now it is 1 in 150 children. That is frightening considering we don't know why there has been such a dramatic increase. Many believe that it is due to the increase in the amount of vaccinations that children are being given ( interestingly there are 0 incidents of autism in Amish communities where children do not receive vaccines), while others attribute it to genetic factors. A recent article sited the increase in autism due to the age of the father ( father's over 40 have less sperm motility, less sperm count and less healthy sperm).

If you are concerned about possible genetic problems, you and your fiance should both be tested by a genetic counselor.

Answer 4

I have a son who is an autism. and I have a daughter who is a gift child. There is no clue why you will have a special child or a gift child. I don't even want to know who carry the autistic gene. All I want is to love him and protect him.

Answer 5

there is no definitive genetic study on where autism comes from, mostly because we dont know what causes it at all, be it genetics, environmental, disease... there is alot of unknown. You likely have as good of a chance as any parent of having an autistic child. Your family needs to know of, and accept, his son, because he will be your step son and will be in your lives forever.

Answer 6

There are still so many unanswered questions, no one really knows, I think.
My daughter is engaged to a man who has an autistic son from his former marriage. And his ex also has an autistic daughter from a former marriage before that. So, I'd say, in their case at least, it came down from the woman's side of the family.

Answer 7

I'm curious to this question as well. My aunt had children with two different men and both her sons had problems. So i know it wasnt the dad...
however when I told my doc about it, they said there's no way to know until after a child is born. That it doesnt matter who carries it.