Is Asperger's hereditary?

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My cousin's son is currently being tested for Asperger's. I haven't heard the results yet.
But I was curious... does this usually head down the family line?
I've been questioning my own issues and looking as Asperger's, so I wondered if his results might be something to base my decision to see a doctor off of.

Any comments?

I'm the only diagnosed Aspie in my family but my Great-Uncle and Granmother on my Mother's side displayed traits and we think my father is on the Spectrum too (he left when I was a teen so we can't see if he is officially).

Correct, autism travals in families, it's not common enough for every generation so you'll usually have to go back a bit, my grandfather and great grandmother both might have been autistic while my late uncle could also have been.

There is definately the chance that AS continues down the generation line and that their children may have it, or at least traits of it.
Personally, males on my father's side have had traits of it, including my father himself.

My father most likely has it, I have it and I suspect my eldest son (but not the younger) of having it. So yes, I do believe it is hereditary.

When you look at your parents, for those of you whose parents have it (or you suspect they have it) when you take into consideration how long they've been alive and all the life experience they have, do you see it clearly?

What I mean is...this was clearly not a readily diagnosed condition when my parents were young, or even when I was a child for that matter, so it seems reasonable to say that they must've developed very good coping techniques to have held down decent jobs, maintained a marriage (my parents are still together), raised children, etc.

I don't exactly look at my parents and see symptoms...though, now that I think about it there are some odd behavioral things, such as a few OCD-like tendencies, lack of social lives...

Basically what I'm wondering is...if your parents SEEM like the average person, what do you see or notice that makes you think they might have Asperger's too?

I had a long talk with my mother over lunch (when I found out about my cousin getting tested) and I told her all I'd read about Asperger's and what I thought about it and how interesting it is. I talked for the entire hour about only this...and she listened patiently as she always does with me, but a lot of the things I told her about she just said, "You're just like me. I was the same way. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with you. It's just our personalities."

She is the type to never put labels on anything though. So she thinks it's fine that my cousin is being tested because that's him, but she is adamant that her children are normal, fine children and anything I express concerns over - I must just be exaggerating.