IF I have AS, will my Kid have it?

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well yes and no
neither of my parents have AS, nor does my brother
god if I had AS kids I'd probably want to flee
the world doesn't need anymore of me, I am a one person deal

This Discussion Interest me Cause i Have a medical diagnosis of asperger syndrome and yet everyone so far in my family is NT my parental grandfather may have had it but since the question is will i have aspie children, if u measure it by how many have it in my family, then the simple answer is NO, but hey u never know

Reading through these posts, it's easy to relate to each opinion. I've wanted to be a father my entire life and now knowing that I have aspergers I've had to second guess this goal. At the same time though whether or not my children have aspergers shouldn't matter as long as I can provide for them and have a wife who is as supportive as I am. I get annoyed by case studies and generic opinions because on an individual level, things are different. I cannot tell someone to have or not have children based on the risk of them having aspergers, but I don't think it should stop them. As long as a potential parent is ready for parenthood, no matter what the case, it shoudn't matter. Aspergers is not a terrible thing and as we find out more I think society will adjust and if not so what. There are much worse scenarios that could happen. Many, such as myself like to look at it as a blessing in many ways. I've come to realize my strengths with having aspergers as well as situations I need to adjust to. The other options are limitless ranging from adoption to artificial insimination from a donor. Point being it is an indiviuals choice and I'll respect whatever their decision may be. Personally, as long as things work out the way I'd like, with a supportive and loving wife, I'd like to conceive. But who knows. I know alot of people have had different situations and different logic. Just like in the "NT" world there will always be differences in situations and opinions. Hopefully we'll know more in the future and If you look at how much has been found out since it became an official diagnosis, things are looking better. Anyways hope ya'll are doing well, Have a great day.

I think my dad is asp, and one of my sons as well. Both high functioning. Make of that what you will.

I didn't have therapy or take pills as a child and I turned out okay. My NT sister actually cost more money than I did. She was more expensive to raise, because she wanted the latest clothes, music and gadgets. I didn't care one way or another, and I wore a lot of the same clothes, all the time. My NT sister had to keep up with the latest fashions. She also needed the extra money for school dances that I didn't go to.

AS is supposedly (though likely) genetic but I'm not sure if there's any real evidence as to what the root cause is. Some kids get to the age of 2 or 3 with neurotypical behaviour before they are affected (Pervasive Development Disorder).

Though if I had to choose if my kids would be AS or NT, I would prefer AS. Talent and logic in my opinion is better for diversity and making progress in the world. Here's a thought; If every child born for the next 100 years was AS, they would be neurotypical by contrast. It would also make an interesting society to live in.

I suspect my father is an aspie, perhaps to a greater extent than I. I will never have children; I have too many things wrong with my mind, and feel it would be irresponsible to be the direct cause of another entity suffering in similar ways.

Most people have traits which fit along a continuum of severity, and it's how many and how severe that makes the difference between AS and NT. The traits get shuffled just like any other group of traits, it seems. Your child might get the lot from one end of the continuum of severity, or from the other, but more likely their traits will be varied, because no two people are neurologically the same.

That said, I didn't want to have a girl because, not knowing why my life was the way it was (late Dx) but seeing that the problem was hereditary (from my mother), I didn't want to risk inflicting the same social misery on anyone else. With diagnosis came understanding that my isolation was immutably associated with my intelligence and talents, which I DID want to pass on. I happened to have a son who has plenty of my traits, and he has some spectrum traits from his NT dad, too, that I don't have. He's got sensory hypersensitivities and fine and gross motor skills problems that I don't have, but he's more social than I was - a gift from his dad.

I was glad he didn't have a trisomy, because I was 40 before he was born, and I was glad he didn't have cerebral palsy, and I'm glad he can obsess and collect and systemize objects and information. And he's happy and lovely, and that's good enough.

Also, because now I know what's going on he won't have to go through what I went through at home, with a very extroverted, NT, high functioning father who couldn't understand any of his 5 children, wanted us to do well but was completely baffled and frustrated by our various degrees of HFA - we all have different traits, too.

Because AS isn't an all-or-nothing you can't tell to what degree they will have it, if they have it at all, but from what I've seen it looks pretty dependably transmittable genetically.

As for the cost, while I don't have to spend money on peer-group dictated clothes, accessories and social outings, I have to spend money on special interests, and I don't have to spend money on after school courses because he's not interested in sports, and he's an autodidact. My goal is to get him sufficiently educated in an area of his special interest to be employable, and self-sufficient, but that's probably the same goal all parents have.



This reads like a lecture - sorry, my head's a bit non-compliant. Just wanted to comment on the interesting question...

Now that I know the symptoms I am convinced my Grandfather had Aspergers. My uncle, his son, and my mom show symptoms as well. My sister has strong symptoms, too, but her hubby is NT and their daughter is NT. So maybe it's stopped in my family. I don't have kids and my uncle above didn't have kids. I wonder about my mom's other brother and my cousins. We don't talk to them anymore. I definitely think it's hereditary.