Are you a first-born child or otherwise ?

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Youngest of three; and I'm the only one with an ASD (and I'm a girl at that!). Strange, I know. My sister's the first born and she's a social butterfly and an aspiring comic book artist and my brother is a mechanic. Doesn't exactly leave room for any motor deficiencies.

I'm the child of two veterans, though. The rates of having children with autism are said to be even greater in the military population than civilians. My dad acts sort of Aspie as well; but he's the youngest of four and he had a twin sister that passed away from a heart defect when he was younger.

EDIT: Thinking about it now, my mother was taking birth control when she conceived my brother and I. She was also a smoker and didn't quit while she was carrying any of the three of us. Maybe that has something to do with it?

I'm the younger brother. My brother is 5 1/2 years older than me, and is NT. A sister was stillborn before my brother.

Looking at five generations of my family: the ones in bold are ASD

generation 1 my maternal grandmother - first born (younger siblings not ASD)

generation 2 my mother - first born (only child)

generation 3 myself- first born
my brother -second born (only the two of us, no other siblings)

generation 4 my daughter - first born (has two younger siblings not ASD) (has twins, one is ASD)

generation 5 my grand daughter -second born (the first born has very minimal signs of ASD but would not meet most criteria)
my grandson - third born (extreme ASD)

So 4 out of the 5 firstborns in 5 successive generations are autistic.

First born.

Youngest of three, female with two older brothers.

I know I tend to have a more "masculine" personality, though I'm unsure if it's because of AS, or because of my older brothers' influence (though I'm thinking the former more than the latter nowadays).

"A meta analysis study done by Harvard found that firstborns have a 61% increased risk of autism compared to being the thirdborn child or later"

cited from the book Autism author Dr Robert Melillo 2012


Coincidentally, the (completely unscientific) poll the OP has opened here has a 70% response rate of first borns, which corresponds fairly well to the 61% scientific finding!

The Harvard meta analysis study cited is available on Pub Med in full. Google the title:

"Prenatal Risk Factors for Autism: A Comprehensive Meta-analysis"

I am First born with 2 younger siblings

I was first born, although I have a younger sister who is NT.
I have 2 cousins through my dad's half of the family - first is NT, second shows signs of ADHD.

I wonder why I am not an NT. I am not disappointed, in fact I feel quite lucky.

First born, one younger bother, one younger sister.

I'm technically second-born of two kids, but my brother is my twin. He is NT.

I know a young woman who is first-born and an Aspie.

Yep, only child. My parents had me and said "Well, let's not do that again".

I'm the last of four children. My sister, the oldest, doesn't seem like she's on the spectrum at all.

Me: First born and the only child.
My aunt: First born (and the only child for first 15 years). 4 younger siblings either NT or BAP.