Just whn u thot thre ws no fam history | Autism PDD

Im 38 and have an adult brother 36,high functioning Autism. Have had a lifetime of this,wouldnt change a thing,only to make his dream of driving come true,but it never will.So we will galavant around togethor!!

This has happened with two different branches of my mother's side. When I mentioned to a second cousin that my son has autism, I found out about antoher cousin's child who had the diagnosis. Another time, I found out about a child who was being evaluated.

I think there are also signs in some adult relatives, even though they may not have ever gotten a diagnosis.

I have an uncle who I call a, "flaming aspie". He thinks its funny. When he does something that's really rigid...such as planning out his whole day and expecting no deviations...I say, "Your aspergers is flaring up." My dad has traits as does another uncle. My grandmother also has some asd tendencies.

Perhaps this was already stated somewhere but pick up the book "George and Sam". Written by a mother with two ASD boys and she explains a lot of family history that was undiagnosed but very indicative of Autism/Asperg. like behavior.

Very good read.

Best regards,

Mark

http://talusmusic.com/MarkMathis/Shine/Songs/Shine.mp3

I have a cousin who today would be dx w/ Asperger's, he attended Spec
Ed and struggled quite a bit. A few of my cousins' kids have
developmental & psych/emotional issues, as well as seizures. Among my
immediate family--each of my sisters has at least one child with speech
delay, sensory issues, and one nephew who has PDD, SPD, & speech
apraxia. On dh's side, his uncle has a developmental disability & a couple
of nephews have some speech issues & minor delays.

We also have a connective tissue (genetic) disorder in our family, and that
can affect motor skills (including oral motor) and is now thought to have
some psych issues as part of it. So, it's possible some of my family
member's delays are related to the EDS, while clearly (to me) there seem
to be genetic markers for PDD and seizures in my family tree as well.

We've got a lot of allergies, asthma, & autoimmune disorders in my family
tree as well. All of this, plus reading I have done, has led me to feel that
autism is somehow a mix of genetics, metabolic & immune reactions, as
well as some possible environmental causes.

So far, no one in my extended family pops up. I know now though, that both DH and I have some autistic traits. For myself, even as an adult, I find myself rocking or biting the inside of my lip, etc when stressed. Thinking about it, I even flap! As a child, my first full sentences were "Look ma, mo-cycle" and "Let's have some co-peration here". I was a little over a year old. I have some issues with bright lights and I can't bear a lot of noise or disorder. Drives me right up the wall. LOL Scored pretty high on an Aspie test, too. No dx, and I'm not interested in getting one.

I am (as discreetly as possible,lol) keeping an eye on my nieces (I have no nephews), but so far, so good. I don't see anything that says "spectrum" to me. I don't know anyone IRL who has an autistic child, except one lady I've spoken with on the phone a few times.

It's sort of surreal.

My nephew has ADHD and NVLD, my ex is an undiagnosed passing aspie, I
have ADD.......Yes, some of that going on here too. We recently found out dh's cousin had learning problems severe enough that her parents were told she'd always be in spec. ed and never accomplish much (years and lot of hard work later - untrue!). Finding dh has AS traits that may extend back but it's a delicate question, we can't ask how far. So, stuff on both sides of his family. On both sides of my family, a history of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia. None of this started clicking until months after dd was diagnosed with ASD. Dh and me, our genes together are probably not a good thing. But who knew? I'm done having kids now (feel like a ticking bomb), but I'm really happy with the two dd's I have - angels, both of them.

So, isn't it amazing that we have always said that there was no family history of ASD or any other neuro in either side of the family, then we finally start talking about the issue and I find out tonight that my cousins son has exactly the same DX as my son. THis is proof positive to me to get out there and spread the word. Get out from under my own pride.

Anyone else?