"Can Aspergers be inherited? Our son was recently diagnosed, and now I am wondering if my husband has it too ...their behaviors are very similar."
Aspergers (High-Functioning Autism) is a neurobiological disorder in which known areas of the brain are affected in ways scientists do not yet understand. Aspergers is considered to be inherited in a complex fashion—more complicated than disorders like color-blindness or Huntington’s disease. The recurrence rate for the disease in siblings of affected children is approximately 2% to 8%, much higher than the rate in the general population but much lower than in single-gene diseases.
With respect to other autism spectrum disorders, researchers are closer to finding a genetic basis behind them. Rett’s syndrome is an autistic disorder for which the exact genetic cause is believed to have been found. In Aspergers, studies suggest problems in several chromosomal (genetic) regions, including areas on the chromosomes 2q, 7q and 15q. While the 7q region is considered the most promising area of study, research studies involving this chromosome in Aspergers have failed to observe its linkage to this region.
For reasons doctors do not know, there are far more boys diagnosed than girls. Scientists have evaluated whether or not Aspergers represents an X-linked genetic disorder—one passed down generally from a mother to a son. Unfortunately, there have been cases of father to son transmission of the condition, which means that the disease cannot be X-linked.
In at least one case, two parents with Aspergers had a child that also had Aspergers but did not have a severe case of the disorder, nor did the child have autism. In another case, identical twins both had Aspergers, but this is not always the case.
While some scientists support the idea that at least a portion of Aspergers isn’t genetic at all, there have been no specific findings associating the syndrome with any environmental condition, including a lack of association of the disease with pregnancy characteristics and pregnancy complications.
10 comments:
That is what the doctor's say.
my husband was only diagnosed after our daughter,its so common,our psychologist told us,we now think his brother and sister on spectrum too,all so alike,it answers so many questions,we have now access ed aspergers marriage councelling through RELATE U/K,,its helped to understand so much,our psychologist thinks it goes back at least 5 generations from family history,and we agree,
After life with my husband and step-son, nothing could convince me otherwise.
Autism can be seen in a hereditary breast cancer syndrome called Cowden Syndrome. Cowdens syndrome is very rare.
Husband diagnosed after son, I think we might all have a little. I know I have sensory processing issues. I am not diagnosed with anything.
I think my husband is in the spectrum. Had a lightbulb moment after my son was diagnosed. He thinks otherwise, but I am convinced....
I think my hubby and father-in-law are both on the spectrum but they won't agree. I think that is why my son and hubby argue so much also
my son is an high functioning autistic boy,my husband and myself were diagnosed with Aspergers ^^ so we are an autistic family ^^
My son was diagnosed first at age 7. Now we belive my husband has it, too, he's 41. They also argue so much it's like having 2 kids sometimes. Neither will back down when they think they're right.
It's the old Nature/urture argument again. Add that to the fact that psychiatry is a grand guessing game anyway and you really can see that all these labels are just that - names that help us deal with situations and perhaps get some resources badly needed. But even the so-called experts don't know what they're talking about, as in this article:
"In at least one case, two parents with Aspergers had a child that also had Aspergers but did not have a severe case of the disorder, nor did the child have autism."
Excuse me? He had Aspergers, which is officially on the Autism Spectrum, but he didn't have Autism...? Huh?? *shakes head*
19 hours ago · Like
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