Aspergers is it genetic ?

Alison - posted on 04/01/2009

My 9.5 year old son was diagnosed with PDD-with aspergers in 2007. It was a long journey to get to that diagnosis (it was first suggested when he was 3), especailly with my husbands denial that there was anything wrong! When my son was diagnosed by ASPECT the counsellor indicated after meeting my husband that it was possible that my son had inherited it from him and then when taking an even harder look at my husbands father, it's even more apparent that it probably runs in the family. The counsellor also told me that the highest percentage of new Autism Spectrum Disgnosis is with adults aged 30 plus. My husband has finally come to terms with our sons disgnosis (and probably his own) and it has made not only our relationship stronger but also the bond we share with our son. We have a daughter as well but she does not have any signs of ASD. We do struggle at times with different issues with our son and are finding that as he gets older he is tending to get bullied a bit more and is striking out in frustration but the beauty of us all being on the same page ( and our school is brilliant! ) is dealing with these problems as a united family. In my experience, the more interaction your child has with other children as he grows up in the next few years (ie; playgroup, preschool etc) the more likely you'll pick up any signs of ASD. Good luck!

Tracey - posted on 03/31/2009

Although, I have not read each of these posts I can say that currently "we" myself and my sons Dr. who is an Endocronologist at Emory Childrens Center in Atlanta, and a Dr. specializing in pediatric Endocronology ARE telling me that Asperger's CAN be genetic. Is there physical proof of this yet?? Dont know. However, this week I am being tested (blood) to find similarities in my blood and my sons regarding a disease called Thryoid Retention that he may have that goes hand in hand with Asperger's and behavioral development. Last thing I ever thought of was that his growth issues could be tied specifically to Asperger's... we'll find out!

Leslie - posted on 03/30/2009

I'm not sure the best way to help your husband because I don't know his story at all. Everybody's story is so different that I couldn't tell you where to begin other than being willing to ask him what he struggles with in communicating with you. You can't really control how he interacts with anyone else and he may get more stressed if you try to, and that will in turn affect your relationship, kind of by accident. But if you can begin to understand what he is frustrated with, you can change how you relate to him.

For example, I am very good with words and can explain things three different ways until I find the way that you can comprehend what I'm telling you. That makes for a great teacher when a student is struggling with a concept. The problem, though, is that my husband processes things slowly and thoroughly and when he gets overloaded, his thought process shuts down altogether and needs to kind of "reboot." It took a long time for him to be able to pinpoint that for me, though. He didn't know how to explain it.

I had to learn to make sure I have his full attention at the time, only say it once, and then walk away and let him have as much time as he needs to process. Either he will come back to me about it, with questions about what I said, or an answer or decision, or he will forget about it and eventually when I bring it up again, he will either go, "Oh yeah. I think 'blah,'" or "I forgot." And then we're back to square one.

The only other thing I can say is to not crowd him and try to keep physical affection going if that is something that helps put him at ease. For my hubby, just little things like greeting him when he comes home, brushing my hand across his shoulders when I walk by and he's at the computer, etc. help him relax to where he can talk easier. I have learned to touch his arm or his face while I'm talking if it's really important to me that he listens.

But if your husband does not respond to touch, or responds negatively, you will just have to see what kind of non-verbal cues you can give each other. It would be really helpful if his counselor or psychologist can help you two make a kind of sign language that he can use to cue you in on how to respond when his words are frozen or his mind is spinning.

We have some friends who have developed gestures to let their partner know things like, "It's not you, it's me, just give me space," and "You're stressing me out, back off." "I'm too mad at you right now", things like that.

As for noticing symptoms, we missed a lot of them with my son because he would always respond to us when we engaged him in play, making sounds and all of that, and we were always playing with him and teaching him, like most good parents. What he didn't do, looking back, was begin the "conversation," bring things to our attention that weren't basic needs (like "look at this toy" as opposed to "I want some food out of the refrigerator), and didn't care if he played with other kids or by himself. When he hit around two is when we started noticing things, but didn't think much of them because his dad was "just a shy kid" too. But when he would throw a fit, he would bang his head on the floor and roll around, almost writhing, rather than cry and whine, and his fits were over anything and everything and could last for nearly an hour--but this can be a very typical thing for a strong-willed toddler--not for a four or five year old. That's part of what took a while for us. There weren't any "standard" things to see until he got older.

When I look at the typical questions for identifying autism, I would still be in denial if I had not been vigilant in digging for an answer for my child and stumbled across Asperger's. Everything everyone else suggested wasn't on target, you know? There was always a missing piece. I started researching, and now I understand how that could've happened.

Even if one day you look back and figure out something you missed, don't fear it and don't beat yourself up over it (or allow your husband to blame himself). It won't change anything. Don't let fear eat you alive. Just deal with what is in front of you right now.

Jennifer - posted on 03/30/2009

Personally, through my experience I believe it is inherited. My husband has a mild form of aspergers and I believe my father-in-law also has aspergers. My son and daughter are both on the spectrum. My daughter has PDD-NOS (pervasive development disorder) which you would recognize right away there was a problem. Then my son who is 5.5 has PDD-with aspergers - I actually didn't recognize it until this past year after he started kindergarten.



Granted my son has been having a hard time but it is only because we didn't know. Now that we know what we are dealing with - it has made life wonderful. My son is extremely smart and has a quirkie personality but that is what I love about him. The hardest part about the whole thing is having relationships. He has a hard time with kids his age.



I wouldn't worry - either way - it looks like you have a wonderful son.

Tamara - posted on 03/30/2009

There's plenty online that deals with the question of genetics of Asperger's and ASD. The bottom line is, no one knows! LOL.

If a woman carries a certain gene, her children has 50% chance of being on the spectrum. Older parents are more likely to have children on the spectrum. Autism runs in families, and yet, 90% of current spectrum dwellers are sporadic cases, meaning there's no link in their family. Autism has been linked to a handful of genes as well, not just one, so as far as genetic therapy goes, it'll be quite a while before it can be effective.

Your son *probably* has a higher chance of having Aspergers....unless your husband was a sporadic case. And if you carry a certain gene. And if your husband carries a certain gene. And then again....he may be completely typical.

Simple way to tell if he might be on the spectrum....does he make eye contact with you? Does he point at things? Does he direct your attention? If you point...does he look where you're pointing? Is he fully engaged with you in play?

Melissa - posted on 03/30/2009

The son Iam talking about is 13 months old he loves to be cuddled and carried around he is a people person but your right i will have to watch his behaviour and see if i can point out certain behaviours. since you are more educated in this area then I am May i  ask you a question. Is there anyway to help my husband Im there for him I make sure he goes to his councillors appt and his pyschologist appt I dont always go with him because i feel thats his time to vent. I encourage him to talk to me and to fight threw his weakness like for instances he hated reading up until a year ago when he started reading books his mom couldnt believe it  so if you have any insight please feel free thank you

Leslie - posted on 03/30/2009

You will have better luck looking under "autism" than Asperger's. Aspergers is actually the high functioning end of the autism spectrum. There is evidence that there is a genetic component, but to my knowledge there is no really conclusive data yet that pinpoints what it is, like whether it gets passed through the mother's side (as with Tourette's syndrome) or if it skips generations, is a recessive trait, etc. I know of another family where the mom has four boys and two of them are Aspy kids. I don't know if there is a family history or not, but there has not been a name attached to the traits associated with it until recently. The term itself has been around for over fifty years, I think, but it wasn't connected to autism until more research and understanding progressed in that area to the point it all came together.



In case you are not really familiar with your husband's diagnosis, let me give you a little information, because it sounds like you might NOT be scared, except that HE'S scared because he has struggled living with it. What Aspergers actually points to is someone who is "slightly autistic," meaning they are pretty much normal in most areas, but struggle with social norms and structures.



Most people don't understand that Asperger's is about a different learning curve and is a social learning diability--so they tend to respond to people like they are just stubborn and defiant, and that just makes it even harder to learn how to function in society when you don't understand why the rules are the rules to begin with.



Aspy kids don't just absorb the nuance of body language, vocal inflection, facial expressions, and other subtle cultural cues that most people aren't even aware of. They have to be taught almost like you would teach a kid their alphabet before they can read. Some are blessed with someone who recognizes this for what it is, and has the patience and knowledge and understanding of how to go about helping them relate to other people. If there isn't a solid understanding of autism within their circle of influence, they just get tossed around and labeled as difficult, rebellious, ADHD, ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), or any other diagnosis that could be blamed for "their problem." The result can be that they get medicated for problems they don't have, screwed up body chemistry from a hyper-sensitivity to drugs of any kinds (which are usually ineffective because they're treating the wrong thing), and horrible self-worth because people are telling them they can be different when they often still don't even understand why everyone thinks they're different to begin with. I wouldn't be surprised if this is part of what's behind your husband's fears.



I am just learning through putting pieces together from what I know of my husband growing up that he was very likely somewhat autistic, too, but we're not sure whether my son's issues stem from him or from my grandfather. My grandfather was never diagnosed with Asperger's, but looking back at behavior and mental patterns, it is very likely. The difference is that my husband was more of the quiet kid who understood everything around him but couldn't express himself outwardly in language well and struggled with reading and pronunciation. He was very compliant and would do what was asked without a sound. My son, on the other hand, learned to talk at a normal age, but would react intensely whenever I would interrupt him from an activity or make any kind of request of him. He doesn't struggle at all with reading, but writing and tying his shoes and explaining his own thoughts is very difficult. They are both very visual and very good at puzzle and problem solving. (My hubby is a computer nerd, lol) While my husband is very laid back and tends to be unemotional about most things, my son is over-the-top emotional, like my grandfather was, along with his temper.



My point in telling you this is that, yes, it's possible. But how your son develops is completely individual, and if he is touched by this at all, the best way to deal with it is to get to know your son's patterns as early as possible and educate yourself early so that you know how to prevent the painful pigeon-holing that your hubby may have experienced. Also, DUMP ON THE LOVE AND AFFECTION! That is what made the difference for me and other moms of Aspy kids that I know. You have to work hard to get your kid to attach to you, but once that happens, you have an open window to help them.



My son did not start voluntarily giving affection until about age 4. He would kiss you back occasionally, but it was more out of cooperation than affection. He would not hug relatives (even grandmas and grandpas who were around a lot) or say goodbye to people when they leave or talk on the phone, things like that. Looking back, I can see signs as early as 10 months, but because he was right on time developmentally in everything, it wasn't until he was older that I figured out he was parroting things, not understanding them. I was pretty sure I knew what was going on, but having him in public school for kindergarten really clarified for me what specific things he struggled with. Now I homeschool.



I hope this is helpful. Don't be scared. Your husband has a measure of brilliance in him, of that I am sure!