Autism, A Family Affair, By, Jason Hahr

 


The picture above shows a group of people sitting around a table. One of the people in the picture has a disability; she is sitting in a wheelchair. 

On Monday, we posted an article about a quicker process to diagnose Autism. Today, we continue our series on Autism. This time, we're dealing with an article discussing new autism research.

Last October, Disability Scoop published an article discussing the interesting finding that Autism may run in families. Without citing the entire article, I will outline the basics. The primary conclusion of this study, discussed in the article, was that children who have older siblings with Autism are 20.2% more likely to develop Autism themselves by the age of three. If they have multiple siblings on the spectrum, their risk increases to 37%.

The study that drew these conclusions examined over 1,600 children from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom for two and a half years, starting at 6 months and continuing up to three years.

 One final interesting find from the article was that even though it is flabbergasting, if a couple has a child with Autism, and she is a girl, it is twice as likely that the next child will be Autistic on some level. I find this interesting because for someone’s disability to be impacted by gender is rather alarming. I don’t know if I have any Autistic family members, but I would be interested in going through my family history to see if Autism is prevalent in our family.

On another note, I have another relative with Cerebral Palsy, and I wonder if, even though currently, Cerebral Palsy is not considered genetic. Maybe it’s time we re-evaluate this idea.

Okay, this blog was short, but it was too interesting not to share.

Until tomorrow, our next blog discusses an inclusive comedy show for people with Autism and other disabilities. Enjoy your day.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Super Advocate,

Jay

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2024/10/01/study-bolsters-evidence-that-autism-runs-in-families/31091/




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