Siblings with Asperger's

Hi there I have a 10 year old son who was diagnosed with AS a year ago after many years of testing. Last week I was informed by the school that my 2 younger sons who are 8 and 6 may also have AS. My two younger sons are sooo not like their older brother. Is it common for a group of siblings to be diagnosed or are they now just looking for it?...any comments would or could help!...thanks

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Christy on March 31, 2008 at 12:38pm: There is actually a video of a news clip on this site about a family who has 6 children who have all been diagnosed somewhere on the spectrum. It sounds to me like, from many stories that I have heard, that Asperger's can show up in parents, grandparents and siblings.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by sarah golden on December 19, 2008 at 8:23pm: please talk to your boys doctor.the school can not diagnos.and they should not tell you that.i have 4 children and only one has AS.he is 15 .and my other kids are fine.he is my 3rd child.2 older,1 younger.i have had a lot of problems with my sons school.so please ,please talk to your doctor.your 2 little boys has alot to deal with and honey you do to.and they just could be acting out.i have meet a few other children with AS.and they all act different.so please taik to your doctor first.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Wendy on March 3, 2009 at 5:54pm: Asperger's does run in families, so it's not surprising if more than one child is affected. I gave birth to three aspies & four NT's, and I suspect it in my mom, an uncle, two of my brothers, and two of my seven nieces & nephews on that side of the family- and myself, to be honest- now that I know what it is. That said, every child is different, and this is a spectrum issue- I suspect all of us have some characteristics. On one end of the spectrum there are creative individuals focused on their own special talents, all the way to the other end with people who are non-functiontional. The main thing is approaching each child as a unique individual, and helping them work on any areas of uniqueness that causes them functional trouble.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Vickie on March 3, 2009 at 6:14pm: HI there

Funny you should respond to this right now. My youngest was just diagnosed as Autistic last week. The Dr said nine out of a hundred Aspie/Autistic people had siblings that fall within the Autustic spectrum.

Take care
Vickie; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alison Kiser on March 4, 2009 at 8:25am: The 9 out of 100 statistic is interesting. I've never heard that. I have seen/heard lots of families with multiple kids on the spectrum as well. I have 4 kids and only 1 with pdd-nos. There is some mental illness in some extended family members, but not autism that I know.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Vickie on March 4, 2009 at 10:54am: Hi Alison

I got this stat from a Dr who just diagnosed my youngest with Autism last week. His oldest brother has Aspergers, and a middle brother who is probably on the spectrum, but is way to high functioning to test. The Dr said we assume there are higher stats then that in families because that's what the media pays attention to. He said they are starting to find short strands within long DNA strings that say it could be genetic but, nothing to truly prove it. He also said that within the next 10 years they will know more as these kids that have diagnoses start to have kids. The problem with stats and Autism is it just something they started testing for in the last ten years. Therefore there are few parents with a diagnoses who have had kids that they can compare to. The next few years should be interesting.

take care
Vickie; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Shayna on March 21, 2009 at 8:57pm: IN my family there are six children. Three of us are on the autism spectrum ranging from high functioning autism to low functioning aspergers. One is neuro-typical, the other two ar ADHD. It is also possible to have multiple disorders.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Meghan Stewart-Snoad on October 26, 2009 at 6:03am: I was diagnosed with AS when I was 9 and I also have a younger brother with Severe Autism so yes, autism can be genetic. My grandmother, uncle and 3 of my cousins have been suspected of having AS. Every case of Autism is different, so it can be difficult to diagnose. You see many cases of autistic siblings on news and current affair programs.

Meg; ▶ Reply to This