Birth spacing and Autism

Cyndel - posted on 02/08/2011

I know about a dozen moms who have two children less then two years apart and I know no autistic children.
I would say the nutrition might have something to do with it when it comes to someone already prone for what ever reason to having an autistic child. But I don't think it is a culprit alone.

Alecia - posted on 02/07/2011

i actually dont know any kids with autism (knock on wood). i really believe that the reason more kids are being diagnosed is because people are more aware. and since it is a spectrum disorder, im sure there are many adults out there living with high functioning autism. i really dont believe that spacing out pregnancies has anything to do with it. my aunt had my cousins 10 mnths apart and neither one has autism...or my other cousins who are about 1.5 yrs apart.

Chatty - posted on 02/05/2011

Study schmudy...

Rosie - posted on 02/05/2011

i'm not convinced, lol. i only know 2 people who have children with autism and both of them their oldest child has it, one of them her second boy has it as well, and he was born 4 years later. i suspect my oldest boy has a high functioning autism, but havn't been able to get him properly diagnosed yet, i keep getting the runaround, sigh. but yeah, in my limited experience this isn't the case.

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 02/04/2011

It totally depends on how severe it is. I used to babysit a boy with autism. He was a great kid, very smart, but it was obvious that something was wrong. I've also seen other kids with very mild forms of autism that just have a few behavior issues or may not exhibit any noticeable behaviors if you're not around them all the time. I think it's very possible that there's tons of adults with mild forms of autism. Treatment works best as children so I don't think it's something a doctor of an adult would look for.

Laura Zoey - posted on 02/04/2011

It's definitely going up in frequency, otherwise we would be diagnosing adults more now that we know the signs better.
There's no large amount of adults finally being diagnosed, so I think it's clear it is actually more common now.
And if mild cases turned into normal adults previously, then it's not that big a deal to have a mild case of autism....
Idk, I'm no expert it just seems sensible to me.

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 02/04/2011

Austism isn't black and white. It's a spectrum disorder so there is a wide range of severity. Before you were only diagnosed with autism is you were severely autistic. Mild cases may have been passed off as something else. The spectrum is the reason there are now more children diagnosed with autism.

Candi - posted on 02/04/2011

The rates mnay be going up b/c people are aware of what it is. A number of years back, a mild case of autism could be labeled as a kid who is dumb, uninterested, bored, or have lack of attention. There are so many little branches that come off of it too. It seems the worst cases were the ones diagnosed b/c parents weren't sure what was going on and avoided the doctor. I don't know, maybe its just me. Now it seems every other kid is being diagnosed with autism. Before my kids were born, every kid in school was being diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. I n ever ehard of that when I was growing up, then all of a sudden, half the kids in school were on drugs for their attention span! I think these university students need to spread their boundaries and dig a little deeper before coming to such conclusions

Laura Zoey - posted on 02/04/2011

I don't know anyone with autism! So I really couldnt speculate....but something has to be causing it, I mean the rates are going up, and something has to be causing it.
But this does seem like a stretch to blame it on spacing.

Candi - posted on 02/03/2011

I don't buy it. My first two are only 16 months apart and we have no problems. My brother and sister are 15 months apart--no problems. All of my in-laws kids are 17 months apart (they have 5 kids)--no problems. I know 5 kids with autism right now. They were either first children or had 3-4 years between their sibling and them. I don't know if geography plays a part either. 2 I know are in SC, 1 in NC and the other 2 in TX. Just what I have experienced.

Laura Zoey - posted on 02/02/2011

Idk, but I wouldn't plan less then two years between births anyways, honestly we are thinking waiting until Fierna is two before conceiving cuz I feel Eric got jipped out of alot of breastfeeding cuz I am pregnant before he is two.

I think it's good to have at least two years between births, but for optimal breastfeeding, I'd suggest two years before conceiving.
The autism thing just solidifies my thoughts! Too risky I think.