What is the probability of having two autistic kids?

Question

I have been trying to find something on it on google and I can't seem to find it anywhere. I'm wanting to know, what are the odds or probability of siblings (brothers) having autism? I'm speaking on behaf of my two nephews, the oldest has been diagnosed with a moderate case of autism and the youngest is having signs of it. If you know of any websites that has anything I'd really appreciate it. Any kind of info will be helpful. Thanks!

Answer 1

You probably won't find the probability, because they don't know the cause of autism. Some doctors say it's rare to have more than one child with autism. Another doctor I went to told me that If my oldest one has it then more than likely her little brother would have it. Until the cause is found a probability can't be given. I have three children all of them have autism. I have a friend who both of her children have it, but I also have a friend who has two children and only one of them is autistic.

Answer 2

if you have 1 child with autism-ther is approximately a 4% chance a sibling will have autsim----

there is also a slightly increased risk if there is autism in the extended family...

this is based on statistics of families that currently have autism...

www.njcosac.org has good info--don't know if this info is on it

Answer 3

like 1 out of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00...

Answer 4

To date the only genetic condition known to increase the chances of autism is Fragile X. This family could request that their sons be tested for Fragile X Syndrome. If they have it, then chances are the mother is the carrier (as it is on the x chromosome) and all her kids will have a chance of having fragile x syndrome or carrying it and then a 1 in 3 chance of having autism. Other than that, nothing else is known.

I have 2 boys. My first son is neurologically typical and my second son has sever autism. We tested for fragile x and we do not have it. I have no idea if my future children could have autism or not.

Wish I could be more helpful.

Answer 5

20% chance of an additional autistic spectrum child.  this is per our neurologist.  I have 2 autistic spectrum kids and 1 son thought not to be so far (he is 19 months).  I have never seen it written down, but there was a similar question and other responders also said 20%.  From being involved with autism it seems much more likely that 20% is way too low a figure.  Also a big fan of probiotics, not vaccinating, and detox

When my oldest was dx we were told that the chances of autism are 1:10,000 for him to have it.  My how that number has changed!

There have been lots of studies in the past year showing a genetic link with chromosomal deletions of parts of 15 and 16.  This has been in mainstream papers like the Wall street journal, web md, wikipedia, medical news today as well as numerous autism conferences and journal articles.

http://www.physorg.com/news119010727.htm...

There is a lot of varying information out there.   I have found statistics of having an additional autistic child to be anywhere from 8%-75%.  Kennedy-krieger is the autism specialist hospital that says 28%.  Dr. Cook out of Chicago is very reputable as well and his stats are lower.

Answer 6

If you are serious about possible catching the Autism before it gets any worse please contact me. The possibilities of having a sibling with Autism if by the same parents are somewhere in the 30%. Yeah its high. I am consumed by the world of Autism and now prevention. There where so many signs before my son became full blow. They were ignored by the doctors. There is a whole big world out there of parents of recovered children with Autism. 2 things to do now, no more vacinations (for the time being)and give them both Probiotics immediatly.

Answer 7

i have a Friend with 3 autistic children   its genetic so yes would be the answer

Answer 8

I have autism and it is rough to go day to day with all the other symptoms it causes and they just diagnosed me i am now 20 and If one is and the younger one is having signs of it maybe he has a slight autism or on the higher end of the spectrum

Here a a few website I think are the biggest ones that I got more infomation about autism

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles...

FIND books about AUTIsm And mental health they seemed to help me know hoe my brain works and why I am like who I am Good luck on your findings

Answer 9

Yeah, good luck on that one. Scientists have said that if an identical twin has autism, there's an 80% likelihood of the other twin having it. SO obviously there is some leeway in genetics, since two identical twins have identical genetics, and there are several cases of identical twins who DO NOT share autism. However, since genetics vary from person to person, without knowing which of millions of genes affect the physiological expression, it's a crapshoot.

Personally, we have three kids with autism, one with severe, two with aspergers. Then we have four children without (although my 9yo has social anxiety disorder, arguably an autistic trait, and my seven yo has adhd, again, arguably considered a spectrumy disorder) So I'll emphasize again it depends so much on genetic expression, environment, and early intervention/therapy. If your younger nephew is showing signs, he should be in your 0-3 health program for disabled children for free therapy.

Answer 10

There really isn't a way of estimating that statistically.  As your first respondent suggested, the causes of autism would have to be known to make such an estimate.  Furthermore, the only way you could make a statistical estimate is if it were taken as a foregone conclusion that autism is in whole or in part genetic, and then, you'd have to know some absolutes.

Is your second respondent correct that you could estimate this based on surveys of other families with more than one child, at least one autistic?  Possibly.  You'd have to survey quite a lot of families to do it that way.  My autistic daughter went to school with identical twin girls, one of whom had autism, and the other who did not.  You really can't tell from that perspective.  I have two girls.  My younger has some learning disabilities but does not have autism.

That said, since we're talking about two boys, both of whom are already here on this planet, statistics really aren't relevant when you really stop to think about it.   I mean, the younger boy either has autism or he doesn't -- does it really matter what the statistical odds are NOW?  If your sister (or sister-in-law) had asked that question prior to having the second child, it would still be unanswerable, but it would have made more sense then to ask.  All she can do now is get a diagnosis and try to do the best thing health-wise and educationally for her however many autistic children she has.

UPDATE:

In light of the most recent answer at the time of this update, let me clarify something.  There are some known genetic components for autism.  Not every autistic person has those components.  For example, in girls there's Rett's Syndrome and in boys, fragile X syndrome.  This by no means whatsoever means that genetics are indicated in all autistic children, or even in the majority of them.  When we took our daughter to the pediatric neurologist for a diagnosis, this is a man who sees children with new cases of autism every single day, he said that he could do genetic testing, but it would be a waste of time and money because in our daughter's case, all the physical indicators of a genetic link were absent.  When there's a genetic issue, much like with mental retardation/Down syndrome, there are telltale signs in the physical appearance of the person, signs my child lacked.  

We have no family history of this problem.  She has one cousin three years older than she is with Asperger's Syndrome, which is not the type of autism my daughter has.  It is my belief based on my rather exhaustive research that autism has a primarily environmental cause wherein a child is born with their bodies so toxified, that they lack the ability to filter out any further toxins.  Yes, there can possibly be a genetic component to why some discharge toxins more readily than others.  In any event, when we then come along and bombard these already toxically-burdened children with rapid-fire vaccines often given two or three at at time, from a very young age, very close together, we have a development of autism.

Yes, vaccines are related.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirb...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirb...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirb...

Because one person's individual experience is that her friend has three children with autism only suggests strongly that there is a genetic issue with THAT family, not necessarily with everyone, and even amongst those with a genetic component, perhaps it would never have been activated, never have become a problem, or perhaps, the genetic problem would never have occurred were it not for the persistent aggravating factors.

Ignorant, whoever thumbs downed this answer.  It's hard enough to find truth spoken about this condition.  When it is spoken by someone, you should applaud the people who've done so.