Well that sucks I am a 37 year old man with autism and i really wanted to start a family one day. But if there is suck a high chance that i could pass down my autism to one of my kids that risk is to high. It would break my heart if i had a kid with autism and they had to go thru even a small present of what i have gone thru.
The decision to have kids, many times, is not an easy one to make. You are wise to make a deep analysis and then decide what makes the most sense for yourself. You're being a great parent - even if you decide not to have children.
I believe that most of the times this very high chance is due to the partner of the autistic person also being "a weirdo". Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm also autistic and I know a lot of other autistic people. Typically, autistic individuals don't end up with the popular, super social butterfly partner, who is your typical "neurotypical dream". Understand that genes are hereditary 50% from mother and 50% from father. The large majority of syndromes, illnesses and diseases that are hereditary are exactly genetically 50% chance per parent, including other mental problems such as depression, adhd and so on. Why would autism be any different? Typically, it's because lets say the mother is autistic and the father isn't. Well, the father isn't the furthest thing from autistic either, since partners typically resemble each other and have similar hobbies. Most autistic people end up with nerds or introverts or highly sensitive people, who are more openminded to these things and might have similar hobbies and challenges, although they're not autistic. That would explain the very high chance of passing autism. Children resemble their parents. I know an autistic man who went to a third world country to get married because no girl wanted him in our country. He wedded the most beautiful, most talented and most popular young woman he found and she married him for the money and to get out of poverty. They had three children and only one of them is autistic. The man died of cancer when the kids were still young and she got married again. Two of her three kids have no autistic problems. If the chances were really 83% per partner, don't you think it was terrible luck twice? No, I believe it really is just 50% chance, but it gets higher when the other parent has autistic traits too, which typically happens. The mixture of genes creates a higher chance of autism in those whose partners resemble them the most. Multiple studies have confirmed certain people have a higher chance at passing down genes that can develop autism, and if two of such individuals get together and have a child, it's double the chances. And we're talking about neurotypicals. Most autistic people end up with that type of neurotypical, because human beings tend to gravitate towards those who are similar. My partner is the furthest thing from autism. It's very unlikely that this happens, but I have a very "mild" form of autism and I mask extremely well. He doesn't even know I'm autistic. I'm self diagnosed and absolutely nobody knows that I am except for myself. If everything goes well and we have children, I highly doubt our chances are close to 90%. It makes no genetic sense. Every scientist knows children inherit an equal amount of genes from one parent and the other. There is no guarantee what genes they will inherit from each parent. However, if both parents share similar genes, then there might be, which I believe is what happens with autistic people and their neurotypical partners. So there is not an equal 83% chance per couple, there's more like a personalized % per couple depending on their genes and how much these genes contribute to autism. The same happens with most things, like when getting pregnant. There is an average of 25% chance with no protection, but it is just an estimated average, the real % is individual to each couple and depends on how fertile they both are. I believe the same happens with autism. 83% is just an estimated average, it's not an exact science.
I have a son who was diagnosed with autism at 4 yrs old, he is now 8. In 2016 my oldest son (18 at the time) developed epilepsy having his first grand mal seizure in June of that year. In February of this year, my younger son (17 at the time) developed psychosis/schizophrenia. Of course, I'm always looking for answers and understanding. Could there be a connection between these conditions?
You have been through quite a few tough years recently and it's understandable to search for reasons concerning your children. Epilepsy and schizophrenia are common comorbidities with autism and there are certain approaches that can address all three such as diet, Vitamin D, etc. Genetically there are some common genes but it is diverse and varies with the individual.
Might want to do a hair test for heavy metals. Look into the Cutler Chelation therapy. A lot of us have compromised detoxification systems. Symptoms can be all over the map but a hair test is reliable for checking metal issues, whereas a blood or urine test is only reliable if a very recent acute exposure occurred. I messed up years ago when I thought I had metal issues. I did a urine test. Came back normal. Suffered and got worse for 5 more years before looking back into metals and discovering this test difference. Did the hair test, and I was off the charts for aluminum and some other things. There are other toxins that we can get loaded with. I have some fuel toxins from spilling gas on my hand to mow the lawn. They are in the extremely high levels because I'm already having trouble clearing stuff. The norm for people is to be free of issues. If issues pop up there is a good chance it's environmental. Hereditary issues can play a role but really since the industrial revolution toxic exposures have only grown and certain toxins such as metals can actually cross the placenta and each generation can be born starting with higher body loads of toxins. I think this is a large part of what's going on with autism. I'm not a doctor but I was a brain research scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health as a Psychologist before health issues caused me to quit and I've studied these issues for MANY years since I've been largely bed bound due to torn hamstring tendons that never healed well when I was 23.
Hello, I'm a genetics experts and also on the spectrum. The 83% is just an ESTIMATED AVERAGE. The real % is individual to each couple. For example, there is an ESTIMATED AVERAGE 25% chance of getting pregnant after unprotected sex at x ages, but lets remember this is just an average. The real % is personal to each couple and will depend on how fertile they both are. Some will get pregnant right away and others will take months, years or will never be able to. The same happens with autism. An autistic person carries a 50% chance already, and the other partner will hold a personal % as well, which typically adds to the odds. Understand human beings gravitate towards those similar in personality and hobbies, so it's very likely that although most autistic people end up with neurotypical partners, the likelihood that they carry genes that are more autistic friendly is only natural. You don't typically see someone on the spectrum married to your typical social butterfly, girly girl heartbreaker in high school. They typically go for those who are similar, that is, introverts, nerds, sensitive people.... What I'm trying to say is, the % of your children developing autism is individual to you and your partner and 50% of the chances are on you and 50% on your partner. If you want to get a heads up, the best way to predict your personal odds is to ask yourself how similar you are to your autistic sibling, how neurotypical you are and how many autism traits you really carry, and then analyze the same in your partner. That's the best guess you've got and your chances. There is no such thing as 0% chance in anyone, and yes maybe you do have a higher chance due to the genes you carry that might be 'autistic friendly', but you might not carry those genes or pass them down to your own kids. Siblings dna samples share APPOXIMATELY 50% of their dna, but it is not an exact science like with their parents. You DEFINITELY share 50% genes with your mother and 50% with your father, but with your sibling? It can be 25%, 40 something, 50 something and so on, and you are still full siblings. The genetic mixing you both share is completely random and doesn't have to be similar, but it most likely is, because most parents are genetically similar to each other, since human beings gravitate towards those similar to ourselves.
Hi doctor, the son of my girlfriends brother have autism (a very notorious), i have been thinking if is right to take the risk to have babies with her or if is better the adoption idea... In my family there's Not any case of similar neurology alterations... What do you think?
Well that sucks I am a 37 year old man with autism and i really wanted to start a family one day. But if there is suck a high chance that i could pass down my autism to one of my kids that risk is to high. It would break my heart if i had a kid with autism and they had to go thru even a small present of what i have gone thru.
The decision to have kids, many times, is not an easy one to make. You are wise to make a deep analysis and then decide what makes the most sense for yourself. You're being a great parent - even if you decide not to have children.
@@navigatingawetism That chocked me up way more then it should have.
@@navigatingawetism guess that answers my question… life has been such Hell. I can’t.
I believe that most of the times this very high chance is due to the partner of the autistic person also being "a weirdo". Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm also autistic and I know a lot of other autistic people. Typically, autistic individuals don't end up with the popular, super social butterfly partner, who is your typical "neurotypical dream". Understand that genes are hereditary 50% from mother and 50% from father. The large majority of syndromes, illnesses and diseases that are hereditary are exactly genetically 50% chance per parent, including other mental problems such as depression, adhd and so on. Why would autism be any different?
Typically, it's because lets say the mother is autistic and the father isn't. Well, the father isn't the furthest thing from autistic either, since partners typically resemble each other and have similar hobbies. Most autistic people end up with nerds or introverts or highly sensitive people, who are more openminded to these things and might have similar hobbies and challenges, although they're not autistic. That would explain the very high chance of passing autism. Children resemble their parents. I know an autistic man who went to a third world country to get married because no girl wanted him in our country. He wedded the most beautiful, most talented and most popular young woman he found and she married him for the money and to get out of poverty. They had three children and only one of them is autistic. The man died of cancer when the kids were still young and she got married again. Two of her three kids have no autistic problems. If the chances were really 83% per partner, don't you think it was terrible luck twice?
No, I believe it really is just 50% chance, but it gets higher when the other parent has autistic traits too, which typically happens. The mixture of genes creates a higher chance of autism in those whose partners resemble them the most. Multiple studies have confirmed certain people have a higher chance at passing down genes that can develop autism, and if two of such individuals get together and have a child, it's double the chances. And we're talking about neurotypicals. Most autistic people end up with that type of neurotypical, because human beings tend to gravitate towards those who are similar.
My partner is the furthest thing from autism. It's very unlikely that this happens, but I have a very "mild" form of autism and I mask extremely well. He doesn't even know I'm autistic. I'm self diagnosed and absolutely nobody knows that I am except for myself. If everything goes well and we have children, I highly doubt our chances are close to 90%. It makes no genetic sense. Every scientist knows children inherit an equal amount of genes from one parent and the other. There is no guarantee what genes they will inherit from each parent. However, if both parents share similar genes, then there might be, which I believe is what happens with autistic people and their neurotypical partners. So there is not an equal 83% chance per couple, there's more like a personalized % per couple depending on their genes and how much these genes contribute to autism. The same happens with most things, like when getting pregnant. There is an average of 25% chance with no protection, but it is just an estimated average, the real % is individual to each couple and depends on how fertile they both are. I believe the same happens with autism. 83% is just an estimated average, it's not an exact science.
I have a son who was diagnosed with autism at 4 yrs old, he is now 8. In 2016 my oldest son (18 at the time) developed epilepsy having his first grand mal seizure in June of that year. In February of this year, my younger son (17 at the time) developed psychosis/schizophrenia. Of course, I'm always looking for answers and understanding. Could there be a connection between these conditions?
You have been through quite a few tough years recently and it's understandable to search for reasons concerning your children. Epilepsy and schizophrenia are common comorbidities with autism and there are certain approaches that can address all three such as diet, Vitamin D, etc. Genetically there are some common genes but it is diverse and varies with the individual.
Might want to do a hair test for heavy metals. Look into the Cutler Chelation therapy. A lot of us have compromised detoxification systems. Symptoms can be all over the map but a hair test is reliable for checking metal issues, whereas a blood or urine test is only reliable if a very recent acute exposure occurred. I messed up years ago when I thought I had metal issues. I did a urine test. Came back normal. Suffered and got worse for 5 more years before looking back into metals and discovering this test difference. Did the hair test, and I was off the charts for aluminum and some other things. There are other toxins that we can get loaded with. I have some fuel toxins from spilling gas on my hand to mow the lawn. They are in the extremely high levels because I'm already having trouble clearing stuff.
The norm for people is to be free of issues. If issues pop up there is a good chance it's environmental. Hereditary issues can play a role but really since the industrial revolution toxic exposures have only grown and certain toxins such as metals can actually cross the placenta and each generation can be born starting with higher body loads of toxins. I think this is a large part of what's going on with autism.
I'm not a doctor but I was a brain research scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health as a Psychologist before health issues caused me to quit and I've studied these issues for MANY years since I've been largely bed bound due to torn hamstring tendons that never healed well when I was 23.
If i have a sibling with autism, does that increase any chances for my own kids to have autism?
Hello, I'm a genetics experts and also on the spectrum. The 83% is just an ESTIMATED AVERAGE. The real % is individual to each couple. For example, there is an ESTIMATED AVERAGE 25% chance of getting pregnant after unprotected sex at x ages, but lets remember this is just an average. The real % is personal to each couple and will depend on how fertile they both are. Some will get pregnant right away and others will take months, years or will never be able to. The same happens with autism. An autistic person carries a 50% chance already, and the other partner will hold a personal % as well, which typically adds to the odds. Understand human beings gravitate towards those similar in personality and hobbies, so it's very likely that although most autistic people end up with neurotypical partners, the likelihood that they carry genes that are more autistic friendly is only natural. You don't typically see someone on the spectrum married to your typical social butterfly, girly girl heartbreaker in high school. They typically go for those who are similar, that is, introverts, nerds, sensitive people.... What I'm trying to say is, the % of your children developing autism is individual to you and your partner and 50% of the chances are on you and 50% on your partner. If you want to get a heads up, the best way to predict your personal odds is to ask yourself how similar you are to your autistic sibling, how neurotypical you are and how many autism traits you really carry, and then analyze the same in your partner. That's the best guess you've got and your chances. There is no such thing as 0% chance in anyone, and yes maybe you do have a higher chance due to the genes you carry that might be 'autistic friendly', but you might not carry those genes or pass them down to your own kids. Siblings dna samples share APPOXIMATELY 50% of their dna, but it is not an exact science like with their parents. You DEFINITELY share 50% genes with your mother and 50% with your father, but with your sibling? It can be 25%, 40 something, 50 something and so on, and you are still full siblings. The genetic mixing you both share is completely random and doesn't have to be similar, but it most likely is, because most parents are genetically similar to each other, since human beings gravitate towards those similar to ourselves.
Hi doctor, the son of my girlfriends brother have autism (a very notorious), i have been thinking if is right to take the risk to have babies with her or if is better the adoption idea... In my family there's Not any case of similar neurology alterations... What do you think?
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