Morality of bearing AS children

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My last girlfriend, that I rencently broke up with, I highly suspected of having AS. This got me thinking. If I got an AS girl pregnant, between genetics and envirionment, the kid would have a very high chance of being AS. Is it ethical to bring a child into this world knowing he/she will be handicapped??

I find there is nothing wrong with it. AS may provide more challenges in the lives of the individuals like myself that are Aspies but we are no less worthy of a chance at life than other non-autistics. There are conditions and all far more worthy of possible medical termination and all that are way more life-threatening and damaging to the quality of life than being on the spectrum. There's enough people out there that wish autistics and aspies wouldn't have children in attempts to eradicate more of us in existance just because we're different than they are... it's sickening IMHO. I have AS, my SO is non-autistic, my oldest son has autism and my youngest possibly has AS or OCD and I wouldn't change anything as they are wonderful and even if I had a child with down syndrome or that would have been face with mental retardation, I'd never have denied that child of a life and love that I would have given him/her as they are just as special and worthy of life as any others. We are no less human than any non-autistic yet we're treated like we're an epidemic, a disease and all... unlike some other handicaps that are gaining acceptance in society's eyes. Myself like an increasing number of others on the autism spectrum are appalled at many people lacking the courage to gain awareness that we're not automatically 'handicapped' because we have AS, it's often the co-morbids that tie themselves in that make life more challenging. How would you have reacted if they had a high chance of having a child on the autism spectrum and that child had been you and they had told you that they had debated never having you? Would that make you feel better or would it make you feel de-valued in their eyes knowing that they were scared of having an imperfect child that could have even more potential than some non-autistics have but because they have a diagnostic label that people discriminate against and all?

I'm not handicapped, I'm just a late bloomer!

I've managed to live a relatively full and happy life, although the first 20 or so years of my life weren't easy ones. I think that I more than make up for that now.

I have every reason to believe that my son will also. Hopefully I can help to make his entire life a happy one. Since I've dealt with the same issues, I feel I can better help him. And his wonderful qualities (which he probably wouldn't have if not for AS) more than make up for any deficits that can be overcome.

Just my humble opinion.

I see something wrong with people who think that the only child worth being born is the child that is "normal" in the eyes of society. I wonder is on some other planet far from here, another group of beings is having the same debate on whether NTs should be born at all.

I don't consider myself to be Handicapped. I see my having AS as being Normal but Different. I see my Label as a positive Difference and not as a "Handicap" AS is only a Handicap to the people in our lives who don't understand the Personality Traits that come along with the Condition.

I think that for some parents having an aspie child will tend to reinforce the idea that there are people in this world that are not all so normal in the eyes of society. The problem is that too many of us end up in the hands of parents who refuse to understand the traits and how to deal with them. What we need are parents that are more understanding of our traits, and therefore will do what is best for us in the long run.

Having an NT child in many cases is no easier than having an aspie child. In some cases, it could even prove to be easier. I doubt many aspie children tend to stay out partying with their friends and get drunk at late hours at night. This is quite typical of a lot of NT children when they go through that stage of rebellion. With us, it is getting us to socialize that is more of a concern, which tends to bring unexpected problems to parents, not expected ones. I think parents expect their teenage children to be defiant and quite rebellious. I don't think they expect their teenage children to be introverts and not easily manage to make friends. Of course, this whole executive functioning stuff that comes along with AS can sometimes make life extremely miserable for parents, but that all tends to depend on the individual, and it is much of this executive functioning stuff, I think, that brings on many co-morbids. Still, though, it's all on a spectrum. We're just more of a challenge. I think what we need is understanding and support.

I also believe that for many of us are hidden talents tend to go unrecognized. This is something I think that is supposed to change over the course of time, but it will only happen if we are better understood and less ridiculed.

- Ray M -

I think that it's unethical to let NT children be born. With their inferior reasoning skills, they won't be able to cope with a world this complicated.

(No I don't believe that for a second. I just thought that a sentiment this ridiculous deserves an equally bizare counter sentiment)

(the title: I think this might provoke a lil' controversy)

Seriously, it's perfectly ethicial to let a child on the spectrum, NT or whatever be born.

Careful you don't start on the slippery slope though.

i went thru this myself having my second child. I don't think AS is a life threatning disease that we should ponder if we should have a child or not. the only reason I speculated when having (before conception) a 2nd baby is because I just did not know if we could handle the finances because I felt it was manditory that my husband (or I) stay home to raise our family. i questioned also if we had enough time to spare on another child with the my son having AS.. he demands a great deal of our time and i wondered if it was a just thing to take away time from him. Newsflash it was the best thing we ever did.. My son adores his baby sister and thinks the sun sets on her. she adores him.. its been very hard in his life for him to bond at all.. and its made him very happy to have her and she adores him... so i think the questioned would be better posed if you could handle the time, energy to have another child rather than if it wrong to bring another child into the world with AS.. Children with AS require a lot of everything! its not a society morality issue as much as a family energy issue..

there is a 90 % chance of autistm being inherited along male lines..so if you have it, it is highly likely any sons you have will have it.
handicapped?
no...just autistic.
autiusitc can fall by the weyside and fail in life, but we can also be so muchbetter than nt's becaue of our autism, it is nt A HANDICAPP.

Where did you get this statistic from?
I know it's more common in males [so studies on females would be more difficult] but it's probable the autism and asperger traits in my own family were inherited from our mother side.. my father however is not an aspie [probably has ADD if there is such a thing].
I have a brother who is a non verbal, illiterate adult autistic.. he is at the very end of the spectrum and is the most severe I have seen. He will always be dependent on other people so is indeed handicapped by autism.

I think what donkey was trying to say is autism alone is not usually the handicap, it's the co-morbid issues that affect speech, cognitive abilities that cause the problems that can 'handicap' in people's eyes. If you took away the problems with sensory, verbal production and cognitive, autism would remain and in many ways look more like a temperament than a disorder. I was talking to an autism researcher and she said that autism is a spectrum, some are less severely affected and seem to present like it's a part of their disposition and others who have communication disorders and cognitive deficits, etc. will appear more disordered. I don't think she meant anything against your brother or those that are more severely affected and require help of others.

I agree that is is not usually.

I was genuinely interested in the stats.. and thought that the myth that autism can't be a handicap needed to be dispelled and the 'male line' thing. Not enough is known about female aspies to discount their genetic role in passing it on.

I'm glad that there are people with autism that are not greatly handicapped by it.. but some aren't that lucky.

It's not being on the specrtum that's the problem. It's society's unwilligness to accept it that's the problem.

riley sorry i havent replied sooner, yes a 90% chance from father to son, try this link

http://www.lcmedia.com/mind434.htm

you have toi lkisten to a radio program and on it a psychologists gives his views on autism, it is a great radio show and there is 2 parts to it, i find it easy to listen to and relaxinbg and very informative.

im sorry your relative is disabled b autism...i was talking more aspregers and didnt rrealise that what you said is true as i have little experience with moderately autistic peoples. im sorry.