Mm, I don't think there are any particular tests he could take. It would be interesting if any other members of his family besides his daughter were affected by autistic spectrum conditions.
Btw, it would be a good idea to be careful about referring to autism as a "disorder" since most of us view it as a condition or a neurological variation rather than as an illness or a disease.
There are no test's. I know in my family the traits are there in both my mum and my father, also my sister. I was joking to my mum about finding an autistic sperm doner (I am a 30 year old single woman with no kids) she said I should go to a sperm bank so I could get me some normal genes, I told her to you know what! Though seriously me and my sister are on the spectrum we have both grew up well, we were not labelled as kids. I also work with disabled adults and there are classic autistic kids in my family. I know its a hard thing bringing up a moderate to severely disabled child, but asperger's we just different with varying issues. There a million and one what's if's? If ya want kids stop worrying and plan on a healthy pregnency, avoid things that are preventable like Spina Bifda (folic aci yea?), eat healthy and don't smoke/don't drink loads. Excuse my spelling, little bit dyslexic. Carrying on reading the boards and look at the positive stuff. By the way you are playing with fire with this thread on here! Sorry but I agree difference not disorder yea!
By the way I did read that they believe that the chances are increased with the father's age but not mother's, then there are lots of theories I take no notice.
You should definitely understand that AS is afar from a tormenting disorder, people with AS have tried to express this numerous times. Look at this YouTube video, it has a twist in it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AQkfAyAfhQ
Asperger Syndrome is nothing to be afraid of, but as a parent you should try to understand it and be prepared from those diffuculties that are common for kids with AS.
On the subject of ASD running in families, since my diagnosis and my family realising what I did months ago (the oh that explain's ya uncle, ya sister, ya mum etc) my aunt gave the classic statement of that what probably attracted my mum to my dad. I also started to realise I attracted to guys with similiar personality traits, I will add that these traits are strong and turns out my ex also has ASD in his family. Anyone figure this too? Its like I have an inbuild aspie radar!
Try reading Asperger's and Girls by Tony Attwood, loved the chapter by Ruth Synder.
I've not heard of it being diluted as it gets past down, don't think that applies in my family where did you read it?
My familiy's a mix of autism, ADHD and a few other things.
You seem to be very open-minded, that's definitely a good thing for a such a new thing for many people such as autism.
Related question from an ignorant Aspie: is the actual severity of ASD heritable?
For instance, if an Aspie has children, does that mean their kids might be Aspie, or that their kids could be anywhere on the spectrum?
From personal experience, I think the "severity" depends on how many children your child interacts with prior to school. I interacted with almost none, so those skills didn't exist until first grade.
Really, I think it's both genetic and based on the way you grew up.
Related question from an ignorant Aspie: is the actual severity of ASD heritable?
For instance, if an Aspie has children, does that mean their kids might be Aspie, or that their kids could be anywhere on the spectrum?
Personally, I think the severity is heritable, as I have observed a very similar pattern of developmental delay in my mother's brother, myself, and my brother. My mother is the suspected carrier, who is somewhat (but not fully) asymptomatic.
From personal experience, I think the "severity" depends on how many children your child interacts with prior to school. I interacted with almost none, so those skills didn't exist until first grade.
Really, I think it's both genetic and based on the way you grew up.
If you had interacted with more kids prior to first grade.. how do you think your AS would have manifested, Meiloyn?
Uh, I don't think there are really family "curses" but I suppose it could seem that way sometimes.
From personal experience, I think the "severity" depends on how many children your child interacts with prior to school. I interacted with almost none, so those skills didn't exist until first grade.
Really, I think it's both genetic and based on the way you grew up.
If you had interacted with more kids prior to first grade.. how do you think your AS would have manifested, Meiloyn?
Hm, I was fine until I had to interact with other children. Being just about the smallest in the class meant I got bullied a lot.
Interesting - I now think several members of my family show or showed ASD traits (those who are now deceased, including my dad and one of his brothers). This goes through several generations.
Mum also said she had some "odd" relatives and that her mum (now deceased too) was very phobic of things such as phones and closed rooms but was fearless when it came to protecting her family from snakes that often came into the house and the outhouses at their farm.
I'm also very phobic of phones and gastric upsets but am not scared of spiders, frogs, mice, rats, and bugs. I wonder if girls are instinctively fearful of such creatures or if they are taught to be. When some girls bullied me at primary school, I picked up a green frog and they ran away screaming (even big girls who had bashed me up - wish I'd have thought of this idea in pre-school).
Some girls in my neighbourhood accused me of giving their pets the evil eye and making them die. This was when four Spanish families moved into a block of flats across the road from us for a year or so. One of the big girls tormented me and I threw sand into her eyes so I think that's where the evil eye stuff started. She kept saying I was going to get married in a dunny can and I took major exception to that because I thought it was really going to happen (darned Aspie literal thinking).
From personal experience, I think the "severity" depends on how many children your child interacts with prior to school. I interacted with almost none, so those skills didn't exist until first grade.
Really, I think it's both genetic and based on the way you grew up.
If you had interacted with more kids prior to first grade.. how do you think your AS would have manifested, Meiloyn?
I would still be Aspergian in nature, but at least I would appear a little less ***. Apparently I still come across as a bit *** even though I am a fully functioning intelligent 14 year old.