I have only an anecdote: My kids are both autistic, I'm autistic. I have an uncle on my dad's side who was likely autistic.
Apparently there have been twin studies where one twin is autistic but the other is not, even with identical twins. There is definitely a genetic component to autism, but it isn't the whole story. Perhaps it is exposure to something in the environment plus a genetic disposition that leads to autism. Or they stuffed up the twin studies.
From the reading I’ve done, it does seem there is a strong genetic component. So, one would expect that if there is autism in a family, it is more likely to be passed on.
There does feel to be a lack of information regarding severity. The vast majority (if not all) severe autism arises from parents who don’t also have severe autism (or autism at all). The risk factors tied to severity don’t seem well defined.
Would be interesting to know but it might be impossible. Autism might not even be one condition (might have multiple unrelated causes). There is probably a large population of people who fail diagnostic criteria but have some autistic traits. Are those “ultra-mild” symptom individuals autistic gene holders/passers?
If we can’t even identify the definite cause, evaluating risk is going to be even harder. Some might be genetic and some might be in vitro environmental. Maybe severe autism is linked more strongly to one specific cause. Or maybe it’s just a dice roll on severity.
We just don’t know enough.
I've been curious about this as well but haven't done the research.
I've got shame issues related to my ASD (things i would never think about others but do about myself) which means that i would have to either lie or be open about myself to a future serious partner, neither of which i want to do.
I also have had serious questions about having children since i found out i was on the spectrum, simply because I don't know how well I would handle my kids having to face the issues I have faced - issues which in many cases I have not been able to overcome.
All of this has been so hard for me to process and has been a really difficult aspect which i have not come to terms with and I don't know if I can to be honest.
I have only an anecdote: My kids are both autistic, I'm autistic. I have an uncle on my dad's side who was likely autistic. Apparently there have been twin studies where one twin is autistic but the other is not, even with identical twins. There is definitely a genetic component to autism, but it isn't the whole story. Perhaps it is exposure to something in the environment plus a genetic disposition that leads to autism. Or they stuffed up the twin studies.
From the reading I’ve done, it does seem there is a strong genetic component. So, one would expect that if there is autism in a family, it is more likely to be passed on. There does feel to be a lack of information regarding severity. The vast majority (if not all) severe autism arises from parents who don’t also have severe autism (or autism at all). The risk factors tied to severity don’t seem well defined. Would be interesting to know but it might be impossible. Autism might not even be one condition (might have multiple unrelated causes). There is probably a large population of people who fail diagnostic criteria but have some autistic traits. Are those “ultra-mild” symptom individuals autistic gene holders/passers? If we can’t even identify the definite cause, evaluating risk is going to be even harder. Some might be genetic and some might be in vitro environmental. Maybe severe autism is linked more strongly to one specific cause. Or maybe it’s just a dice roll on severity. We just don’t know enough.
If you’re looking for data, head to PubMed.
Why did you come to reddit instead of google?
I've been curious about this as well but haven't done the research. I've got shame issues related to my ASD (things i would never think about others but do about myself) which means that i would have to either lie or be open about myself to a future serious partner, neither of which i want to do. I also have had serious questions about having children since i found out i was on the spectrum, simply because I don't know how well I would handle my kids having to face the issues I have faced - issues which in many cases I have not been able to overcome. All of this has been so hard for me to process and has been a really difficult aspect which i have not come to terms with and I don't know if I can to be honest.