I want to thank everyone for their wonderful advice. It means a lot that you would take time out of your day to help me out. I am very happy I have found this forum, I don't feel so alone. I have a lot to think about!!!
Since I am new to this forum and still trying to learn as much about PDD as I possible can, I was wondering if someone can help me out with the abbreviations I have seen on this forum:
HFA- I believe means high functioning autism
What about NT, and ASD? Thanks so much!!!
ASD means autism spectrum disorder (not quite the same as AS, which is short for Asperger syndrome).
NT means neurotypical (ie non autistic)
Here's a quote I ran across today:
"
I asked Dr. Edwin Cook of the University of Chicago, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He referenced an article by Dr. Edward Ritvo in the American Journal of Psychiatry, August 1989 issue. In that article, he says that if one sibling has autism, the probability of having another sibling with autism is 3%. The probability of having another sibling with some form of cognitive problem or language is 15%. The article also says that if there are 2 autistic siblings, the probability of having a 3rd is 35%. Dr. Cook cautions that many factors can distort these statistics. In addition, Dr. Cook pointed out that parents should take into consideration that ALL people run a 5% risk of giving birth to a child with some sort of disability. So every parent runs a risk. "Source: http://www.maapservices.org/Maap_Archive_Articles/MultipleCh ildren.pdf
Here is some hopeful news.
If you had any sort of obstetric trouble with your son - bleeding, pre-eclampsia, extended labor period, cord around his neck, severe jaundice, "blue" baby that needed oxygen, or an overdue child....there is a chance that the prenatal or neonatal factors contributed to or perhaps led to his autism.
There are correlations between obstetric and neonatal problems with autism. A Japanese study showed that children who survived the NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit were 50% more likely to be on the spectrum than the general population. Other studies discovered more detailed stuff, like I mentioned above. For example, there is a correlation between severe jaundice and PDD NOS but not with Autism or Aspbergers (!). Weird.
A significant study done in Italy on Wismar rats showed that when they gave the newborn pups just a smidge less oxygen than is ideal, they developed in a non-social way (not anti social, they just could take it or leave it), they involved themselves in stereotypical behavior (either repetitive movements or fixation on a couple specific toys or activities), and they were very avoidant, sometimes anxious over new situations.
The typical Wismar rat is extremely social and very curious about new things, new mazes, new food, etc. Every population of rat pups that got inferior amounts of oxygen, showed these 3 signs of autism.
This is a very personal decision, and momentous for ya'll, I'm sure. If you did have obstetric trouble, it might make you feel better abot trying again.
THERE IS A TEST you can have done today that checks your body for two blood clotting genes, one of which is named MTHFR. When a woman has one or two of these faulty, there can be microscopic blood clots in the placenta or between the placental wall and the uterus. This can cause pre-eclampsia (I had it big time), but also restricts the amount of nutrients and oxygen going to the baby. If anyone in your family has had a problem with blood clots, tell the doctor.
I would go to a high risk OB for counseling first. They can run all sorts of background bloodwork for you. Ask for the blood clotting genes to be checked...MTHFR is an easy acronym because it sounds like the foul language you hear in R rated action adventure movies. You folllow?
If you do have one gene faulty, you just take baby aspirin daily, plus extra folate on top of your prenatals. If you have two genes faulty, you have to inject heparin into yourself weekly until the last month.
That is the complete and total medical extent of my knowledge around autism and obstetric/neonatal health! Good luck, and get high risk counseling.
LeAnne C,Our 1st son had some severe sensorial issues. With OT and speech 5 years ago he is doing very well. Our 2nd son (2 1/2 yrs) is pending diagnosis however he shows true signs of autism. We have a 5 month old and everyday we hope he will be ok. It would just be nice to have an "easy child". One that can play without being taught, one that will not cry if someone lightly touches him, and one that will be ok with change. However, if it is the case than we will be able to help him the same way we are currently helping our other 2 children. We wanted 4 however, the only reason we are not having another is because of finances. If the kids need help that the state will not cover than that leads to us paying out of pocket.
You have the right to worry. If you truely want more than you should. You might be able to notice the signs and beable to intervene alot sooner on your own.
I had both my children before my oldest was diagnosed, so I never faced that dilemma myself. I've heard that if you have a daughter with autism, there's more of a risk for future siblings than a son with autism.
Newsweek recently had an article about a Kennedy Krieger study involving 107 baby siblings of autistics. Thirty of them ended up with an autism label by age 3 -- in other words 28%. However, the purpose of the study was not to investigate incidence of autism among siblings, but to investigate the possibility of extra early detection.
Here's the link to the article, if you're interested:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19588967/site/newsweek/page/0/
Good luck with everything, whatever you decide.
I am new to this forum. I want to thank all of you for helping me, I have learned a lot about my son's disability just by reading your posts. I have a question and I hope someone will be able to advise me on this matter. My son is 3 1/2 years old and was diagnosed PDD-NOS. He was diagnosed nearly 6 months ago but I knew for much longer. The dilemma I am having now is whether or not to have another child. I adore my son and he is my entire world. Trust me when I say I wouldn't trade him for anything and I most certainly wouldn't change him, he is gentle and loving and kind, he really is a beautiful soul! I am at the point where I would like to have another baby but I hold some fear in my heart. It's not that I don't want to raise another child with PDD or autism, that's not the case, it's just that I don't know if I could live with the guilt to do that to another child. I know my son is loved and happy but in my heart I do carry some guilt about his disability. I know that it was nothing I did directly and no matter how much I read about the causes of autism and PDD I still carry that within me. I try to talk to my friends and family about this but they really don't understand although they try.
I would like to know if there are any other parents who have gone through the same feelings and worries I am going through and does anyone know the statistics of having a second child on the spectrum?
NorwayMom,
Thanks for that quote. It made me feel alot better!
We are on the if it happens or not ... not trying to make it happen, but not trying to stop it either setting. If this one is "special" we will know sooner and be able to do more quicker. If not...would be nice to have an easy child that you can just send to school and not worry about telling the bus driver, aides, principal, teachers, daycare workers etc all about his/her issues.