AS parent, likelihood of AS child?

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Since AS is considered genetically linked, then I assume there is a high (or at least higher) likelihood that a parent with AS will have a child with AS -- is that a correct assumption? And what if the other parent is pretty much "normal" but knows that some kind of OCD runs in his family as well, would that increase the likelihood of the child having some kind of neurological difference? And finally, what are the earliest signs of HFA/AS in a child, and at what age can a reasonable assessment of the child be made? Thanks.

I have read that if one child is autistic there is a 20% chance that the sibling will be. But I'm not aware of any parent to child percentages.

where did you read this?

I have read that a high (as in the 20% area) percentage of autistic spectrum people are related to another person in the close family, ie back to first cousin level on the family tree, but I also read that high functioning autisitics and aspergers people are about 8% likely to havea parent, or grandparent who is in the autistic spectrum, but IO can't remeber where I read that. But the number stuck as I am concerned about my own children, I also read it's more liekely to affect males rather than females with 90% or more being male...

Thanks Rob, I just read a report that said pretty much the same thing, that there's a 20-50% higher chance of a direct relative of an autistic child having autistic traits or AS.
As for the male/female stats, I think those are a bit outdated... it seems the general feeling among the experts these days is that the incidence of AS is pretty much equal in men and women, but males are far more likely to be diagnosed because boys "act out" more and their behavior gets noticed, whereas girls are generally more adept at masking their differences and tend to keep to themselves.
This diagnostic imbalance is only just beginning to be addressed (though it may never even out completely, as a Dx is usually only given in cases where the AS is causing obvious and significant problems, and the criteria are still skewed towards the more male manifestations of AS).

To be honest I can't remember... I think in a magazine somewhere. I'll try googling it.

Here is a 1994 study that indicated a 12-20% sibling occurence for the "lesser variant" of autism. Maybe it was that study I read a reference to?

I've not seen any firm numbers but anecdotally the answer to both questions is yes. Parents seeking out answers on ASD forums frequently report family members with diagnosed or undiagnosed ASD or ASD traits. And many report OCD/Anxiety Disorder runs in the family as well.

Here's an article from Wired magazine about the rise in AS in children in Silicon Valley:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12 ... rs_pr.html

Quite a number of my relatives had or have "mild' autistic traits and a bit of ocd and depression. One of my uncles was thought to be brain-damaged at birth but now my mother thinks he had autism.

Of the current generation in my family, I'm probably the worst affected but there are others with a few signs of the condition. I only started "acting out" as an adult because of not being able to cope with prolonged intervals of stress. Lacking social skills led to rejection and getting into trouble with peers.

What about the other side of the coin - how likely are two NT parents to have a child with an ASD?

I'm wondering because apparently both of my parents are NT, but I almost certainly have AS (they're still not convinced I have it).

jackie, sometimes it happens that two NT parents with no ASD traits in the family produce children with AS traits. Parents who believe vaccines or other environmental factors were the cause frequently have a child with this situation.

But very often if you do some digging through the history of the close biological family you'll often find AS traits and/or ODC and/or anxiety and/or very brainy/geeky types.

although most of hubby's family has aspergeric traits, none of them seem to think aspergers "fits" them...HA HA HA HA HA.............i'm certain that at least 4 of them have aspergers ( definitely both hubby's parents). our oldest son has aspergers, and our daughter has traits but we were told that she's ADHD~i don't believe that one, but am trying to deal with that issue.

My parents are NT, I'm an Aspie... my father's father was most certainly an undiagnosed Aspie.... and a lot of others on that side of the family are on the spectrum.

I only recently found out about AS. I am confident I have it. My mother is NT, my father shows a lot of signs of AS (as did his father, who died with Parkinson's). My brother shows many of the signs of being an aspie, and he is bipolar as well. My sister doesn't show any signs. My brother has a 6 year old son who's starting to show signs, and a daughter who seems NT.