Adopted people - the genetic link autism/schizophrenia etc.

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This has just come into my mind, because one of my siblings was diagnosed with schizophrenia years ago, and obviously this new research coming out has found a genetic link between schizophrenia, autism, bipolar, depression and ADHD. This means they are all in some way heritable. This sibling had a baby whilst in the midst of a very difficult time being committed etc., and the baby was taken away and adopted out.

Of course there is no definite case to say that the child grew up with any issues related to those conditions, but I am wondering if they did.

Because histories of birth parents may not always be recorded in detail, I would hope in this case they were. But what if I have an unknown nephew out there who is undiagnosed Aspie or something and is struggling in life and doesn't know why? It's quite upsetting to think about. What if his adoptive parents never even told him that he was adopted, or they have no idea about his birth parent being a schizophrenic.

I believe my father was on the spectrum, so at least 2 of his children got the genetic element, me with AS and my sibling with schizophrenia. My own two children are on the spectrum, which is why I am wondering about this unknown nephew.

I think they should make it legal that relevant medical histories are always disclosed to the adoptive parents and that adoptive parents must inform the child's GP so it's on record, otherwise they could end up with a lot of problems that take some solving.

Yeah I really hope this happens now, I thought it did these days, I know it didn't in the past although from what I've heard off someone else - mothers drinking habits/drug use, environment was usually recorded but not always passed on unless specifically requested. I think if you're adopted in the last decade or so & even more so now you've probably got the best chance of a proper assessment & more noticeable symptoms early on because of the added stress making things worse.

I know a lot of adopted children suffer with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, you say your sister has Schizophrenia & was in treatment when pregnant - so I suspect having to take medication, I wonder if he suffered with any birth defects due to the use of mood stabilizers/anti consultants when inside the womb http://bipolar.about.com/cs/pregnurse/a/0104_antidefect.htm either way I'm sure he'll be looked after well, is there no way you can make contact with him or his adoptive parents?

Last edited by delic on 07 Mar 2013, 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

As an adopted person I would agree, as it probably would have saved me so much grief in my childhood. On the flip side, however, it may have hampered my chances of getting adopted to begin with.

One could argue that it would preclude unqualified parents from adopting a "special needs baby" however that too is not foolproof.

bump.

i am adopted and i was adopted when i was 2 weeks old.
i never knew i was adopted until a doctor in an adolescent unit i was a resident of, theorized that some aspects of my behavior were as a result of my knowing i was adopted.

there was a meeting set up that me and my adoptive parents were required to attend and the psychiatrist said "mark, there is something i have to tell you about your parents. do you know what i am going to say?"

i had no idea what she (not marie bashir) was going to say, so i said "no" and she said that i should brace myself because she was going to tell me something that i may find devastating. immediately i imagined that she was going to tell me that my father had a terminal illness, and i went into a panic.
my father also begged her not to tell me what she was determined to tell me, and i saw that my father started crying which is something he never did, and so that reinforced my idea that he was going to die.

i loved him so much because he protected me from the world and he had a special place for me in his heart that i inhabited like a recluse.

but the message was only that he was not my real father, and that was the greatest relief i ever felt

i never wanted to be far from him because he was strong and protective and he lovingly approved of me despite how different i was to what the outside world expected.

he was much older than me (54 years older), but he was very powerful and he loved me.

i thought i was going to be told that he had terminal cancer. i was 15.

when i was told i was adopted (the ineffectual punchline) i was relieved to a great degree. i said "phew!! is that all?" and the doctor said yes.

well i did not care and my father lived for 25 years more, and i am very sad he died but now i find myself in a quandary that i have no real medical history in a genetic sense.

doctors can not plot what is likely to happen to me due to my lack of history in a relativistic sense.

who cares? tammy does but i do not and tammy is angry with me because she does not want to live without me.

i am well i tell her but she is worried about me.

Last edited by b9 on 11 Mar 2013, 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

This paid service might help:

https://www.23andme.com/health/all/


It often pops up in the targeted ads of websites (including here) when people talk about genetic disease risks. I don't generally click on targeted ads but this does seem like a useful service.

In what way? I have no idea where or who my nephew is, he would have a name unrelated to the family because of being adopted. I'm not looking for practical ideas of how to solve anything with this thread, just saying that because of the genetics there are likely to be people in similar situations as my nephew who might have a condition that has not been recognised and the adoptive family were possibly never aware of potential genetic issues. Thanks for trying to help though.

(On a side note, I have actually done the 23andme thing and I am awaiting my results as we speak, I'm interested in my heritage and ancestry and also at some point they might be able to identify the autism genes).

If you get 23andme results, one thing they do is flag possible relatives in their database and show you a list of them and how close they are estimated to be. If your nephew gets 23andme's test, he'll be told you are a relative of his, and offered the opportunity to message you. Depending on your privacy settings, he may or may not get your name and background information, but at the very least he'll know that someone in 23andme is a close relative of his.

(I'm hoping the girl my mother put up for adoption gets 23andme. She'd be my half-sister, and I'd really like to meet her someday.)