Parent(s) in academia?

Post Reply New Topic

One pattern I've noticed is that children with college professors for parent(s) tend to have more autistic traits than otherwise. Anyone else have one or more parents in academia?

There are two possible reasons this might be observed.

People with higher IQs tend to work in academia and would have children prone to Aspergers (now called high functioning autism).

People in academia are more likely to believe that a diagnosis would have value and would be more likely to have their children identified as such.

It may have something to do with the term nerd.
In my faculty (physics), autistic traits are so common that a specific subculture has emerged, with, among others, simplified, literal communication. No wonder nerdy parents have nerdy kids.
Then, intellectual parents are likely to look for patterns in their children's issues and try to get answers.

No but my stepdad is so if social/epigenetic factors are a thing then one of my 'parents' is.

My family looks like this:
Granddad - not a teacher. Worked a stereotypically 'nerdy' job. (Engineer)
Mum - Teacher. No longer a classroom teacher, she tells deaf kids' teachers what they need in order to be in the best educational environment. But she worked as a classroom teacher most of her life.
Biological dad - Teacher/tutor but finds it hard to hold down a job and has done all sorts of random jobs throughout his life
Stepdad - Lecturer
Auntie - my mum's sister. Teacher.
Uncle - her husband. Lecturer.
Cousin 1 - Teacher
Cousin 2 - Teacher

I wish I'd gone into being a lecturer. It was expected of me but then their expectations changed and mum pushed me to do a library MA (the libraries got cut shortly afterwards) rather than an English literature one. My stepdad's eldest biological daughter is a lecturer too.

Neither were in academia.

Father: Short spell as army officer, then switched to Foreign office.
Mother: Worked at Foreign office till she married my father. After divorce she worked as an assistant library manager.

Both very intelligent, but chose not to go to university . Father- lower middle class background. Mother-I'm not sure. Her mother was a nurse. Not wanting to put any extra financial load on her mother was my mother's reason. Not sure about my father. Neither are/were from wealthy backgrounds. A person like them nowadays would stroll with ease into a good university.

Yes, both in the sense that they both went into technical subjects / have similar interests.

Mother: Background in technology and finance. Worked in a think-tank at one point.

Father: Studied engineering (O level), became a technical clerk instead. Also worked in a think-tank, or as a professional planner as he puts it.

Both problem-solving and direct. My mother especially so; she sometimes lacks tact. Neither went to university but both are intelligent. My dad was a precocious child known for his inventive streak.

However, my mother was discouraged from pursuing her interest in STEM as her careers advisor told her that she'd never make it as a woman. My mum's response was basically "Oh yeah? Stuff you I'm doing it anyway", and so she did. Worked her way up from sixteen years old shadowing others. Now she runs her own team and is rather respected in her field.

I definitely had the "raised by nerds" experience. Apparently I speak formally to my mum, but I'd never really noticed until someone pointed it out. I have a habit of speaking rather formally anyway, especially when writing.

My dad never does anything casually, he's always finding some new obsession. He speaks in references a lot and likes to randomly update me on trivia about space. An introverted interest-driven type. My mum is extroverted but blunt and literal-minded.

My parents were both college professors, and my dad's father and grandfather were high school teachers. The consensus in the family is that my dad and grandfather were both on the Spectrum, although they passed away before autism was a diagnosis in the US. I and three of my cousins were diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. My uncle and paternal grandfather also had photographic memories. I think I remember that photographic memories and autism sometimes occur in the same family.

I grew up around academia and college professors. I think academia is more accepting of intellectually eccentric people, and having an intense, focused interest is practically a job requirement. I've met a few that might have had some autistic traits.

Parents who are in STEM academia are found to be more likely to have children on the spectrum but I am not sure there is a lot of consensus about this pattern,

A lot of this belief might originate from Hans Asperger's affectionate label of "little professors" and the tendency of many academics to come across like Sheldon from the "Big Bang theory"

Either of my parents?
... No.

Though, likely because of the respective circumstances and chances. Attaining academics here are severely stack against the odds.
They're both too busy getting a job to ever bother any academic pursuits.

And so far?
There are no 'nerds' in my family. Not that I know of. Not even myself.
Definitely not raised by one myself, no matter how much I fancied otherwise.


In terms of intellect...?
Let's just say their talents and intellect definitely does not lie in academics. It goes further away from that
It doesn't even resemble whatever one describes as 'autistic'.

Not even a special interest, whether in or outside academia.
Really don't know ANY one in my family with any special interest or any sort of obsession other than myself.

Gained Number Post Count (1).
Lose Time (n).

Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.

My parents were smart, but also not fond of school. I've lectured to graduating engineers, but I'm a high school dropout. I was once helping a university professor with some R&D when I said something cynical about education, and he warned me to be careful what I said, as his wife also had a PhD. "Oh, thass' awright" I replied "I ain't prejudice.'" Fortunately, I got the delivery right, and he repeated the joke to his wife rather than continuing to defend her from overheard slights.

My mother is a current high school social studies teacher. My father was a high school teacher and also taught social studies but after a short period of unemployment (at first it was due to layoffs and later it was due to health issues), went back to work in schools as a teaching assistant. They both have master's degrees from the same university (where they met) in history education.

I was raised by weirdos lol.

My parents would put on funny accents and costumes and pretend to be robots and cowboys etc.

Not purely for my benefit, also cos it was fun.

My stepdad still does the accent thing. When he's watching something American he will come in and start talking in American, not just American accent but using the mannerisms and language of a cowboy so instead of saying 'I'll get something to eat before I go home' he says 'I'll get some vittles before going back to the old ranch'. Or if it's Scottish stuff he watched, he'll say 'it's a rare brare moonlit nicht tonicht'.

I don't think 'normal' people do that kind of stuff. Even 'normal' parents with kids.

I'm really glad I was raised by eccentrics actually. I think aspies who were raised by 'normal' people probably tend to feel there's something wrong with them more than I do with myself.