what are the chances of having another autistic child x

Christine - posted on 09/20/2012

I have a son who is 6 and he is mildly autistic. I also have a younger son who is 4 and has not got autism. I recently went to my GP to ask if she knew what my chances are of having another child with autism and she said the chance wasnt increased because I already have one with autism. The chance is unknown apparently so Im not sure where you are all quoting your '%' figures from?

Alicia - posted on 06/13/2012

I'll share our decision as well. Our son is 3.5 and was dx with PDD-NOS at 2 and it was changed to ASD at 3. We have had LOADS of early intervention from the time he was 1.5 and I don't allow myself to dwell on what his life would be like if we didn't push hard for help as early as we did.

We want more children, but have decided that we will either adopt or do IVF with donor eggs/sperm. While we understand that no one really knows, we have enough friends with more than one child on the spectrum that we're not willing to risk our marriage over it. Autism eats marriages and we're not willing to increase our risk of having another child on the spectrum if we can help it.

It's a very personal decision and I'm sure that each person who responded did what is right for them.

Jen - posted on 04/10/2012

This link was so powerful and helped me not only in my thoughts about having another child, but also in how I look at my son: http://www.stuartduncan.name/autism/the-...



I am the mother of a 7 year old son who has classic autism. He is highly verbal (although didn't speak even short sentences or phrases until he was 4), intelligent, and the most loving (although stubborn and intense at times) soul I have ever met. I found out I was pregnant with my second son when my oldest was in the diagnosis process and he was an oops! (I mean surprise lol) baby. I had unspoken pressure to abort from various sources but decided to go with faith instead of fear. My youngest son is now 4 years old. He has been the most effective therapist my oldest has ever had. He makes sure his brother doesn't do unsafe things, get lost, etc. (of course I am there watching and don't force him into that role, but I love seeing his natural care and concern for his brother). They are like twins in many ways because my youngest is actually intellectually gifted and is about 3 years ahead. He taught my oldest so many important lessons that only a sibling can teach. He wouldn't allow him to go into his own little world, he is always asking him to play or showing him cool things he has found. My youngest has some sensory and emotional challenges himself and requires more attention from me than his brother, but there is such magic that goes on between the two of them as siblings in the way they play, fight (no worries about my oldest being unable to defend himself from bullies, his little brother is forcing him to learn self defense lol), and accept each other's differences. I am SO happy that my oldest will have someone to look after him and help him in life after my husband and I are dead and gone.

With my youngest, during his pregnancy I did focus heavily on nutrition, moderate exercise, avoiding toxic chemicals (no dying my hair, I even bought organic shampoo, deodorant, body wash, and dish soap!), avoided all medications, and saw a naturopath doctor for a specific vitamin and mineral supplement protocol to give him the best chance of avoiding biomedical reasons for autism. He was a stronger, more robust baby so I believe that had a lot to do with it.

Whatever you decide, I believe it should come from a place of love, hope, and faith, not fear.

Hopeandpray - posted on 05/10/2011

The inheritance isn't really understood but usually you are more likely to have another child with the disorder if the child that you have with it has a severe form or if they have it despite being the gender less likely to have it.For autism that would mean the most likely to pass it along would be parents to a girl that has a severe form. It is never inevitable though

Dana - posted on 05/06/2011

Help me

Dana - posted on 05/06/2011

My daugther was diagnosed with Autism and undergo therapies and with me do home programs, as i study the right intervention for children with autism. I wonder if having a GIRL with A. What's the risk of having the second child? The girls are rarely than boys. And i encountered parent's with with A daughter have Autistic sibling. I really wanted to another baby but i am afraid of making the same again. Can somebody tell me that, is there anyone out there having an Eldest DAUGHTER with A.. Has a sibling with a nirmal child? thanks..

Lori - posted on 07/28/2009

I'm not sure about having another child with autism.. But we had him & his older sister tested.. chances are high of course for him.. but with his sister she has 70% having a child with autisum..

Claudia - posted on 07/28/2009

I have 2 boys. My oldest is 13. and my youngest is 11. My youngest was diagnosed with mild autism at age 3. They have the same father. I just found out my oldest brother's son also has autism.

Paula - posted on 07/28/2009

I don't think the so called experts in the field of autism really know the chances of a couple having more than one child with autism. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find two with the same opinion on it. This is my story that is full of regret. I have 3 children, all have the same father, ages 18(a boy), 14(a girl), and 13(a boy). The oldest is high functioning autistic the other two have no disabilities today to speak of, other than being normal teenagers with attitudes. Our oldest was diagnosed when our daughter was about 6 months old, about three months later we found out we were having a little surprise blessing from God. We made the hasty decision to not have any more children out of fear. Looking back at the decision we made 13 years ago of not having more children because they "might" have autism or some other disability seems crazy to me today. Would I trade being the mom of my autistic child for anything? I know I wouldn’t, I have been so blessed by the tough journey I have been on and continue to be on with him. I see each of my children as blessings and my only regret is that I stopped my blessings from coming out of fear.

Carole - posted on 07/27/2009

After we found out our first son had mild autisim I spoke with a pediatric specialist and we had a 5-15% chance our second son would have it for some reason this beast prefers little boys more then girls luckily our second son is not autistic only developmentally delayed

Elisabete - posted on 07/26/2009

i have 5 children pregnant with number six adn when my second son was born and i was told he had autism when he was too i was told there was a good chance my others kids had the same .but it isent so.there is a chance yes but ive had 3 pregnancys after him and they were normal healthy smart kids if anything they are all advanced .

i dont think it should matter if they have austim ,they are just as lovable but just need a little extra love

Skye - posted on 07/26/2009

I have 4 kids My eldest son has Autism and A.D.D but I was lucky enough to have 3 more kids and they have no problems.

Bader - posted on 07/26/2009

Well I have 2 boys.The oldest is 7yrs and he has a mild form of Autism and my second son was screened for Autism but turned out negative and was diagnosed with Mixed Expreesive-Receptive Language Disorder which also he has it mild.(thank god).I guess it all depends on your genes.

Kelly - posted on 07/26/2009

Hi i have 5 children 2girls 3 boys all have same dad 2of my boys are autistic and my youngest is waiting for test but as a mum i all ready know i hope this helped

Alisha - posted on 07/25/2009

I was actually told the exact opposite of Birgit's post. My doc said that the chances of having another child with autism was close to 90%. However, my youngest just turned 9 months old and he's going to be behind the curve regardless because I had him at 26 weeks. So far he's doing good but my oldest was good too up until he was about 15-16 months old. Do as much research as possible though because the experts are still trying to figure the whole thing out exactly.

Julie - posted on 07/25/2009

I have 2 boys and 2 girls, my oldest son and my youngest daughter have autism.

Tina - posted on 07/25/2009

From what I heard with working in this field that there is a 33% chance that if the first child has autism the second one will to & so forth will. I hope that helps.

Birgit - posted on 07/25/2009

Research has shown that you have about a 10% chance of having another child with Autism. But you could also look at it this way: you'll have a 90% of NOT having another child on the Autsim spectrum.

Kelly - posted on 07/24/2009

Hi i have 5 kids 3 boys 2 girls 2 of my boy are statment with adhd , autistic my 4 year old boy is being looked into yet my two girls are fine i was told that it rarely goes to girl but when it does they do get it alot worse , it is carried by the male gene and passes down from the male gene .i hope this helps ?

Heather - posted on 07/24/2009

As far as I can gather from the Families of children with diagnosed Autism in them the sex of the child does not matter although boys are 4 times more likely to have autism than not. As it appears there is some hereditary links involved I would say you are more likely to have another than not.
I have 2 boys both with Autism and chose to have not more although I would have loved 4. Our reasoning being
A) it was already hard to give the 2 of them enough of our time with all their needs.
B) What new outcomes would more children add to our burden.
C) Worse than High dependency Autism (both boys are High functioning Auties) was the desire to not inflict Auties onto a NT new baby & Sibling.

You need to weigh up the cost to your life as well as theirs.

Many marriages DON'T survive the Autism. Largely due to the fact that I think one of the parents is usally Autistic themselves, but probably never diagnosed.
Best wished and Good luck
Heather

Jennie - posted on 07/24/2009

We have 5 children 3 of them have Autism. Two are a set of identical twins. The other is my youngest daughter. My oldest daughter is NT and we have a son who is almost 9 months. We are doing all we can to avoid the onset with him. No gluten, no vaccines and as organic and natural in his diet as we can. I am breastfeeding him until he is a year. I am watching his development. I took extra fish oil and vitamin B while pregnant. So far we are on track.
It is hard dealing with 5 children without the Autism, and the Autism on top of it makes it even more of a challenge. It is all worth it and I would still have every single one of them even if I knew ahead of time about the challenges each would bring.

Louise - posted on 07/24/2009

My eldest son had autism and ADD, my daughter is fine!

I know it runs in families but I think it's rare to have siblings,

Michal - posted on 07/24/2009

It is more likely especially if you have a boy. I would suggest seeking genetic counselling so you are fully informed. After our son we decided to not have another child because of the risks, however 12 years later our beautiful accident happened, so we now have a gorgeous 3 1/2 year old girl. She gets along fine with her now 16 yr old 6 foot 6 brother, and he is lovely with her.

Louise - posted on 07/24/2009

im not sure what the chances would be excactly my eldest son has aspergers i then went on to have a daughter with a diffrent partner whos fine but then had anuther son with him who has autisim i dont think anyone knows the excact anserws to how it all works with the genetics hope this kind of helps x

Louise - posted on 07/24/2009

im not sure what the chances would be excactly my eldest son has aspergers i then went on to have a daughter with a diffrent partner whos fine but then had anuther son with him who has autisim i dont think anyone knows the excact anserws to how it all works with the genetics hope this kind of helps x