Is AS Hereditary?

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No its caused by the MMR vaccine.

That's just silly. No one has ever been able to prove this. There are just as many people without shots that have AS that do have them. Perfect example, I know a man who has never had any vaccinations and he is the AS posterboy. I had everything and I'm the AS poster girl. Is this really the only thing that you have to contribute? Really?!

If I am not mistaken, I think Admiral is just being sarcastic!! ! I don't know though!

I was wondering if the reason that there has been such an explosion in ASD diagnoses in recent years, is it that over time, the gene or genes that cause it mutate and now we are seeing the result of years of mutations? I am definitely not the scientific type, but it seems to make sense. Autism used to be a more rare condition, but now, I meet someone just about everywhere I go that knows someone or multiple people that are on the spectrum. We live in a metro area, and I see at least one or two diffierent kids a week with it. I do agree that autism has been around for a long time, but I just don't understand why it is just so much more prevalent everywhere now!! !

In the case of AS, the diagnosis has been around for only some 20 years. With any kind of activity, you will see the impact of improved detection and/or reporting methods. This may lead to hypes (the bad side) or better diagnosis (the good one). Given that cultural/medical impact, I wouldn't say anything has changed regarding prevalence. Nobody had a clue until I was 38!

To those talking about prevelance: imagine having Asperger's 100 years ago, or even 50 years ago! You'd just be eccentric, and strange, and that's that. You'd never get diagnosed with anything. It's only with the growing awareness that the numbers are going up.

I think AS is definitely genetic. I'm willing to allow for a margin of error with random defects or accidents during pregnancy/birth that could cause ASD-like symptoms to the extent of diagnosable ASD, though I have yet to meet anyone with AS who doesn't have AS in their family (or family members who at least exhibit symptoms).
No idea whether it's recessive or not, so it's possible the OP's family was always carrying the gene (or genes) and it was just luck of the draw.

On a related note, I think the fact that autism is more common in boys is total BS. There is nothing about it to make me think it's X-linked, or else they would have already proven that (it's relatively easy to notice when something is X-linked). The ratio of diagnosis in boys to girls is 5:1, but I'm willing to bet money that the actual ratio of those affected is more like 1:1. Girls tend to slip through the cracks because there's more pressure to learn to be normal, and thus girls blend in more easily than boys, especially the higher functioning aspie girls. The girls will never fully pass for NT, but we can pass well enough that unless we ourselves start reading up on it, it's rare for us to be pointed out and tested...

No, he/she wants to also say 'Its always someone elses fault; I want someone to blame'

My dad, his sister (my aunt), my own brother, and my late paternal grandmother all are/were either aspies or very close to it. Coupled with my mom's side of the family being NT but with lots of depression, I didn't exactly inherit the genetic jackpot.

I wish my brother would get an official DX. His quality of life could be a lot better than it is.

I have nothing to support my supposition other than anecdotal & reported diagnosis ratios but the similarities in other somewhat related conditions which have been proven to be X linked should not IMO be dismissed. I think we're dealing with a very complex genetic picture which may have a strong evolutionary bias, I agree that the 5:1 ratio is too high but can't support a true 1:1 relationship based on a premise that females are more likely to "blend in". The difficulty is of course is our necessity to classify this continuum of functionality - where does "high functioning" end and "NT" begin.

It would be interesting (to me anyway) to address the hypothesis that the male:female ratio is near unity, this forum has such a large user base in the community and may reveal an interesting (although biased) poll if everyone were to estimate a percentage of males who are on the AS of the people that members know IRL either friends or family members. Just a thought.


On the subject of diagnosis, I agree with Asponaut, as the actual diagnostic term has only been around since the early 80's it's not possible to have characterised the condition(s) until the classification had been created, although that's not to say the actual condition didn't exist. I'm not so sure that the overall incidence is static, simple evolutionary psychology would suggest that both complimentary and similar partner selection will group individuals into selecting behaviours and thus concentrating gene expressions (for good or ill at a species level).

@ Admiral2365: If you were being serious, please explain how the two most famous names in this field were working on individuals exhibiting AS thirty years before your causative agent was created or what other analogous agent "caused" the conditions described. I've not seen anything to persuade me and it seems neither has the research community, quite the contrary.

Last edited by gestalt on 20 Apr 2010, 10:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

Wow, if AS/Autism is hereditary, that explains a lot. I have an autistic cousin on one side of the family, and AS traits in two near relatives on the other. Perhaps this just runs in the family.

Also interesting is the male vs. female diagnosis rate. I'm of the opinion that it's probably equally prevalent in males and females, for several reasons. First and foremost, the consequences for females showing atypical traits, especially during adolescence, are different than those for males. Yes, there's bullying in both genders, but in my experience/research, I've noticed that during socialization, girls get more concrete examples of the way they're supposed to behave, and it's far more standardized than the expectations of boys' behavior. So, AS girls probably get a much better social "instructions" than boys do, starting from early childhood. There's also a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy, too - girls are expected to be more empathetic and emotional, and so are (unintentionally) rewarded when they show empathy/emotion and punished (again, unintentionally) when they do not act according to the gender role. (For an example, it's easiest to call on my own experience: my own mother bought me tons and tons of Barbie dolls when I was young, but when I showed more interest in my brother's batman toys and Hot Wheels cars, I remember my parents repeatedly told me that I should "play with my own toys" [it's been confirmed that this was merely because they felt my lack of interest in girl-typical toys was abnormal], and it made me uncomfortable enough at some point that I started mixing in my Barbies into the games in order to avoid the reprimands.)

Females also tend to have different kinds of friendships (qualitatively different, in fact, and if desired, I have a few interesting citations on this subject), on which they can rely (or in which they can hide) when their AS traits cause them difficulty. Shyness/awkwardness also seems to be much more widely acceptable in females than in males (by authority figures who might otherwise encourage interaction), and in some cases is almost fetishized (later in life, mainly interested parties of the opposite sex). Comparatively, when males show AS social traits such as extreme shyness/social awkwardness, they tend to be more emphatically encouraged/expected to "get out there" with their peers, and their attempts at such draw attention to their awkwardness, which can lead to concerns which may, in turn, lead to the AS diagnosis.

My point is this: it's possible that AS is equally prevalent among males and females, but the nature in which females are socialized leads to a lower rate of detection/display of AS symptoms in females than in males.

At least, this is how I understand current speculation on the subject. There are some considerations I've left out, but I think what I've given are some interesting thoughts to consider. Note: this is largely based on my own experiences and observations, and I'm not sure that my experiences were anything resembling typical, or that I have correctly perceived the socialization cues given to males. So, feel free to correct me on anything if you have a difference of opinion and/or more information.

Sorry, long road to a simple hypothesis.

I beg to differ. I don't seek to blame anyone for the way my head is wired. It's just the way it is. And for you to suppose it is different is ridiculous. My point was that we can't blame outside factors at all. These things don't usually affect the way that you cognitively understand things. Excluding the odd horrible teacher or two.

It's the people who spend all of their time blaming the shots and the environment and whatever else that can't seem to come to grips with the problems that we face. How you got that I was trying to blame someone else is beyond my comprehension.

Just goes to show you that we are all human and when logic fails us, we attack each other.

You make a good point. I tend to get a little carried away with the male:female ratio because I feel as though it makes it much harder for women to get a diagnosis because of the bias (and because of the "blending in" thing).
Your point about where does HFA end and NT begin was very valid though. All of my friends are NT, but they all display some minor traits of autism (usually only one or two) which is what binds us all together. We all display minor symptom's of each other's problems. A few of my friends have OCD, anxiety disorders, PTSD, things like that, and though I don't have any of those, I display symptoms, so I can relate to them better than most people. (That last bit is also one of the reasons I don't like the use of "NT," because really, what does "typical" mean?)

Yes. People who have a biological child with AS report having an "odd" relative or two.

my sister, grandmother, cousin, great aunt and ger children aswell as my self all have autism of some sort. so yes it is