Chance Of Having Children With Aspergers

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I was just wondering what are the chances of having a child that has AS if one of the parents has AS?
Also what are the chances if both parents have AS? (This may be a silly question but i'm not sure).

EDIT: Also does anybody have any idea what the chances are if neither parent has AS? (Neither of my parents have it but I have it.)

Thanks in Advance!

Last edited by robbokris on 21 May 2009, 1:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

No one knows enough about it to know what the chances are, or even if it's genetic.

But from what I've seen yeah you're more likely to have an AS kid.

If one or even both parents are on the spectrum, possible future parents should consider that there's a heightened risk of sorts that their child is anywhere on the spectrum from milder to more severe too. There are many repiorts of people who say they are autistic and have parents who show traits or have AS as well as parents who realise that they have AS after their children get diagnosed with it.

For all scientists do not yet know about AS and autism they have concluded that there's likely a genetic element to autism of all kind.

I have two sons and my older one, 8, has aspergers also. So, for me it was a 50%. I think it is more chance than a persentage of probability

Yeah, they just haven't studied it enough yet to know any concrete statistics (which is still a bit of a contradiction in itself) about inheritance.

I wish they had, 'cos I would like to have children (when I'm older) but I don't really want to pass on my Asperger's to them but by the sounds of it chances are I will pass it on

Well if it helps, I believe my dad is AS and my mum is NT (with some AS traits), and I have one brother who is definitely NT (no AS traits), and me; AS.

I also think that passing on Aspergers isn't a bad thing to do - because if it is indeed a genetic disorder (which at this stage of research it appears to be), and it hasn't been wiped out of the gene pool centuries ago by evolution, perhaps it serves a function in society. I think having a small percentage of people with ASD's in a population can have a positive effect on society; because although there are many impairments associated with the disorder, there are also positives; autistic savants such as Einstein, possibly Bill Gates, etc who advance human society, and also so many everyday autistic artists and mathematicians and IT people etc who add to the culture and diversity of the human species, and contribute fresh ideas, and different ways of thinking - which is very important.

My personal believe about the importance of Aspergers thinking is tied in with its logical component; non-AS people tend to think more subjectively, whereas AS people tend to think more objectively (due to their intense focus on logic over emotion). It's very important to have both types of thinkers in society for balance, and to serve different roles. Too much subjective thinking can equal prejudice, inequality, etc. Too much objective thinking can equal poorer interpersonal relationships, less community, etc. A balance of both = a productive, fair, and community minded (where people work together and live in harmony) society.

So personally I do plan to have children, and whether they are AS or NT, I will love and cherish them the same, and be proud of them for their different but equally important contributions to society.

Sorry if I'm wrong... haven't reviewed this since science class a few years back.

But, since the genes responsible for AS are on chromosome 17 (completely?), and that chromosomes can go 50/50 or 100% between either the father or mother (assuming she is completely NT), it would be...

50% chance of inheriting half of your AS-related genes.
25% chance of inheriting all of your AS-related genes.


...right?

I didn't know that they had actually located an AS chromosome - as far as I knew, they still hadn't determined the source of autism. And I have done a fair bit of research. I will look that up.

The status of my parents is guess-work really (neither are diagnosed, and I doubt they would ever go in for diagnosis), so I couldn't make any exact inferences, only guesses.

I've read some articles, very interesting. Although their findings are only that there seems to be some correlation with abnormalities on chromosome 17 and autism in boys (but not girls), it's still very vague.

If one parent has an ASD, it's a 50% chance that their child will have one (there's no way to determine what type of ASD).

If the two parents have an ASD, it's a 100% chance.

Seriously?

Super-duper-special seriously.

Or, so sayeth the latest paper I read on such. In the case where either parent doesn't appear to have an ASD, it's usually the female who carries the gene, and they manifest the ASD in its most mildest form so it doesn't appear that they have one at first glance; they can pass on any ASD.

I hope so... I would like children who understand me and I understand.

But enough indicators: Even Hans Asperger in the 1940s mentioned a genetic trail, because he observed similarities in behaviour pattern between relatives and the children he took care of.

Chance of having kids with you and your partner's personality traits:

100%