Is it possible to have an all-Aspie family?

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I_am_Alexis
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01 Aug 2011, 10:03 am

So, I've heard that if your mom or dad has AS, you're more likely to have it. Also, AS children are more likely to have siblings with AS. Is it possible to live in a family where the mom, the dad, and all the children have AS?



Joe90
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01 Aug 2011, 10:18 am

I don't know. I do know a family who all wear glasses: the mum, the dad, and the 3 daughters. And I do know a family who all seem to have a trait of mental retardation, (but are high-functioning people). So maybe it is possible that a family can be Aspies.


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01 Aug 2011, 10:31 am

Why not?

AD(H)D families are common. Half of mine seems to be too, different forms and severities of AD(H)D, neatly passed onto the children.

I know parents with AS who passed down their AS to their children in varying degrees even though the other parents is not on the spectrum.

I know several families and a parent who seems to have passed down the reason for their below average IQs and/or cognitive delays onto their children too.

BL personality disorder parents having passed down a collection of impairing traits akin to that of BL to their child (way too young to consider BL yet).

If two people with autism decide to have children, there is an even bigger chance their child will be on the spectrum.


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01 Aug 2011, 10:42 am

I think it is fairly possible for families to be on the spectrum. A common theme is for a child to be diagnosed first, then one of the parents realises that their child's behaviour is reminiscent of their own behaviour at the same age. They go for an assessment as well, and voila - suddenly there are two people with ASD in the family.


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01 Aug 2011, 10:52 am

I have it and both my parents appear to as well, especially my mother. My one sibling has traits as well. It does seem to have a genetic component from what I have read. I think some people have older family members who are undiagnosed as AS and have been misdiagnosed with some other mental condition like a personality disorder or are just seen as "weird".



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01 Aug 2011, 11:14 am

My parents, my sister and I all wear glasses. In the AS department, both my parents and my sister exhibit a number of traits, but I'm unsure if they would qualify as AS.



Georgia
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01 Aug 2011, 12:06 pm

The only officially diagnosed Autie in my family is my younger daughter. She's still little, but she could be considered Aspie as she gets older. My oldest daughter is Aspie for sure. We're working out how to get her supports at school, which is hard because she is an "A" student.

Looking back, my parents are both on the spectrum. I'm not sure if my quirks are genetic or as a result of having been parented by them. Then there's two uncles, possibly a third. Oh and my husband.

(We're slowly getting rid of the expectation to be/appear "normal." We don't want to worry about it, and would probably be miserable even trying.)


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autismthinker21
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01 Aug 2011, 1:06 pm

I think it's possible in a way. but to be certain if the whole family was as,that would make the world alot interesting in a consent. but i don't think it matters though. any family can be a family as long as family members get along and love each other happily. :)



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01 Aug 2011, 7:12 pm

I_am_Alexis wrote:
So, I've heard that if your mom or dad has AS, you're more likely to have it. Also, AS children are more likely to have siblings with AS. Is it possible to live in a family where the mom, the dad, and all the children have AS?


I think that it's got to be possible.

I've often wondered that about my family. My sister is certainly NT but both of my parents show many symptoms of AS, and I do too. None of us are diagnosed though (and I'm actually having issues getting my mom to believe that I might have AS).

I'm also the only person in my family that has to have glasses. :nerdy:



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23 Nov 2011, 9:31 am

Now that my youngest daughter fits the profile too, I can say that yes...our whole family is Aspie: me, my husband, son, daughter and oh - probably our 7 cats (isn't there a book about all cats having Aspergers?!). Not sure about the snake. Probably. :) I am new to the forum and wanted to see if there was anyone else out there like us, hence looking for a thread like this, even though it is older.
I am hoping to find others like us and compare notes!


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tehtactics
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23 Nov 2011, 10:01 am

i believe it certainly is possible. while i am the only one in my family diagnosed as being on the spectrum, many other members of my family have been diagnosed with things like ADHD and dyslexia. it is my opinion genetics links all of these things so, though unlikely, it is possible to have an all aspie family.



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23 Nov 2011, 10:38 am

Yes!
My husband's family consists of all aspies. His dad has a business selling his custom bred guppies (his obsession). He also has only ever dated my husband's mom. His brother is 29, lives at home, and has only had one girlfriend who was a waitress at a Chinese restaurant, and she only spoke Mandarin (he doesn't). He's obsessed with old arcade games and has even rebuilt a few. He collects the boards from them, especially ones from the late 70s and early 80s. My husband's mom (they divorced ~15 years ago) has a botany degree, but prefers to work as a waitress at a place she knows everyone and spend most of her time in her garden. My husband's mom and brother could be in a competition for most monotone voice in history and I'm honestly not sure which one of them would win, but it would be one of them.

My dad is an aspie. My mom is bipolar (her dad was an aspie, her mom is bipolar). The only other child they had together is my brother Eric, who is probably also bipolar. I'm an aspie.

I'm hoping when my husband and I have kids they're aspies. We're trying to start an aspie breeding program.



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23 Nov 2011, 5:20 pm

Ha - so they would be pedigreed! Sounds like a noble plan. Let me know when you get there!


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23 Nov 2011, 5:32 pm

I am trying to think if there are any neurotypical people in my family, both upstream and downstream. I can't think of any. I don't know that everyone is on the spectrum but definitely not neurotypical. My youngest daughter and I are definitely on the spectrum, official diagnosis or not. Her father likewise. My youngest son is language delayed and other stuff. My eldest two and their father have at least a toe on the spectrum. My two brothers are ADHD with some aspie traits. My dad is ADHD possibly aspie. My mother is closest to nt, and I have my doubts about her. Of two biological grandchildren, one is definitely not nt, the other is gifted and who knows on the spectrum.


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23 Nov 2011, 5:35 pm

Yep, sure is. I was once in an aspie group on Yahoo and there was this one person there who was an aspie and she said her husband was one too and so were all their three kids. So they were one aspie family because none of them were NT. They had no other children, just those three.



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23 Nov 2011, 6:22 pm

everybody in my family except my little sister is.