What are the genetic influences of having a child with Autism?

Question

Hello, I was wondering, what are the chances of having a child with autism are if a person has one sibling and one half-sibling with high-functioning autism?
To make it interesting, let's say I have a cousin with Aspergers' Syndrome, and my partner has the siblings with autism. Both of us are very healthy, but we're concerned about having a child with austism and/or aspergers'.

Answer 1

The odds of the a typical parent having a child with some form of autism is as high as 1 out of 150. Or less than 7 out of 1,000.

If a set of parents already has one set of children with autism, the odds go up to 1 out of 25, or 40 out of 1,000.

But the situation you describe is somewhere in between. From what I have heard, your odds of having an autistic child would be only slightly greater than the average couple. Maybe 1 out of 100. or 10 out of 1,000.

The odds also seem to increase with the age of either parent. A child born of a man in is 50's is 9 times more likely to have an autistic child than a man in his 20's. But this study seems to include only low-functioning autism. The majority of kids diagnosed these days with autism are high-functioning.

Answer 2

No one is really sure about autism and what causes it. I'm not sure genetic counseling would help you, because they are still struggling to learn about autism and autism spectrum disorder, which covers a WIDE variety of symptoms.

I know a family with FOUR autistic children, and a family where one half of a set of fraternal twins is autistic and the other isn't. In my case, my younger sister is severely autistic and my brother and I aren't, although we both suffer from mental... peculiarities (he has social phobia and I have symptoms associated with high functioning asperger's syndrome -- ie, depression, strong memory, anxiety, high IQ).

How devestated would you be if your child had autism? Obviously no one hopes for that, but if the idea absolutely horrifies you you may want to consider adopting, etc. as alternatives. If, on the other hand, you think you could deal with it, I wouldn't get too stressed. Obviously there are genetic determinants, but we just don't know enough about them to make generalizations.

Answer 3

I don't know percentages or anything, but from studies I have read and from personal experience I definitely feel there is a strong genetic component. My dads cousin (much older cousin) had 4 sons. Son #4 has Aspergers (not diagnosed, but it is obvious). Son #3 has a child that has severe autism. Son #2's daughter has a son with autism. The fact that there is a child with autism in each generation speaks loudly in itself to a genetic component (as well as the fact that they are all male as well). I am sure the family is a geneticists dream to study, and it makes me wonder if there are other families out there with the same pattern. Makes me feel fortunate that it does not run on my families side. It is such a hard road to travel....

Answer 4

I would say you need genetic counselling.


Scientists aren’t certain what causes autism, but it’s likely that both genetics and environment play a role. Researchers have identified a number of genes associated with the disorder. Studies of people with autism have found irregularities in several regions of the brain. Other studies suggest that people with autism have abnormal levels of serotonin or other neurotransmitters in the brain. These abnormalities suggest that autism could result from the disruption of normal brain development early in fetal development caused by defects in genes that control brain growth and that regulate how neurons communicate with each other. While these findings are intriguing, they are preliminary and require further study. The theory that parental practices are responsible for autism has now been disproved.

What role does inheritance play?

Recent studies strongly suggest that some people have a genetic predisposition to autism. In families with one autistic child, the risk of having a second child with the disorder is approximately 5 percent, or one in 20. This is greater than the risk for the general population. Researchers are looking for clues about which genes contribute to this increased susceptibility. In some cases, parents and other relatives of an autistic child show mild impairments in social and communicative skills or engage in repetitive behaviors. Evidence also suggests that some emotional disorders, such as manic depression, occur more frequently than average in the families of people with autism.