Aspergers run in the family?

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I had an initial assessment for aspergers the other day and I was proposed the idea by the assessor that aspergers can sometimes run in the family. She said that in her experience sometimes when they are diagnosing someone with aspergers they discover that someone else in the family has it too. This got me thinking. My Dad definitely strikes me as someone who is a little aspie like. Literally right then - me and my mum proposed to go to a spontaneous meal and he freaked out a bit because it would break his usual Sunday routine. And then I realised a little - he does have a really rigid routine, he is a little quiet although he doesn't seem to have problems socialising, he does have a massive interest in music like noone else I've ever met... so is my Dad a little aspie too?
Maybe I'm just being too over-analytical but it makes a little sense to me. So I ask the question, does aspergers tend to run in families? Is there a genetic link at all with aspergers? (I usually know a bit about this stuff as I'm very interested in this area but I've never looked into the genetics of aspergers).

Also as a question to any aspies, do you have anyone else in the family who are also aspie?

Thanks for reading,
Joe

I think my father is aspie but hes so old now there is little point in exploring this. It definately runs in families.

My nephew is the only other diagnosed Aspie in my family (he was the first diagnosed and partly why I sought my diagnoses). One of my cousins has classic autism and another cousin had an unidentified learning disability and now has an child with Classic Autism.

However I am certain that my younger brother, mother, 2 of her 3 sisters, my maternal grandfather and most of the cousins on my mothers side have some degree of Autism/Aspergers.

Yes it most definately runs in families.

So far my seven year old daughter doesn't appear to have it although I could be wrong as I do see some of my Aspie traits in her. However she is not shy with other kids her age and is very popular and well liked in her class. When I was seven I had only 2 friends and they were as odd as I was, maybe more so...

I think that Asperger's Syndrome may run in the family for some people. Aspie traits can certainly run in the family, both of my families from my mum's side and my dad's side have certain Aspie traits.

Well, apparently two or three distant relatives of mine have been diagnosed with AS and three or four with ADHD. But these people are my mum's dad's cousin's children, so they are very distant to me and I've never met them. But otherwise, out of all the relatives that are closely related to me (like parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc) are all NTs.

But of course I'm unlucky enough to be born the only Aspie in an NT family.

My brother has Aspergers and I think cousins on both sides of the family have some form (I think they're all high functioning) of Autism too.

Yes, I definitely do think that this can run in families. My younger sister is severely autistic, my younger brother had savant artistic skills and is very Aspie-like. I have been diagnosed as well. I am not sure about my parents, though. My mother had Borderline issues, and so do two of my sisters. My youngest brother while undiagnosed, does display many Aspie traits.

I do not know any relatives, apart from a cousin who only has some of the traits, who have an ASD. However, schitzophrenia, which shares some symptoms with Autism, runs in my familiy on my father's side. It's a dormant gene, and only comes out with things like drugs and alcohol and such.

Perhaps ASDs could be related to other disorders running in the family?

I'm fairly certain my dad has it, he has almost every trait associated with Asperger's. Interestingly my mom has schizoaffective disorder (basically bipolar + schizophrenia), and from what little I've heard, there is a history of mental illness and neurological problems on both sides of the family, particularly my mom's side.

My father passed away when I was 7. Went out to play football one Sunday morning and never returned home.

So obviously I only knew him as my father, as a child.

A family we knew for my whole life who still live in London came to visit this weekend and I got to ask about my dad.

There are striking similarities between us it seems.

Apparently my father, like me, took everything too seriously. So basically whilst playing cards for pennies he would take it like it was a game involving thousands of pounds. If any one fooled around he would quickly lose his temper and demand they stop playing.

Also like me he did not seem to want to play along with others, rather do his own thing to himself. He would also not buy something that any one else had and would go to great lengths to be different.

One of the things told to me was how my dad played golf like all of his friends. But, my father refused to just go out and buy a golf bag off the shelf and ordered one to be made in a colour no one else had.

My father's mother was deeply mentally troubled. She died the year before dad so I have learned a lot about her since, but her diagnosis was "Manic depression" which is now known as Bipolar disorder.

However, something just doesn't seem right. When I talk to my family it does not sound like nana ever had what would be considered a true manic bout. Instead she just had waves of deep depression and terrible anxiety problems.

What I have also taken into account is that nana was diagnosed back in the 60s, when mental health services were non existent and they were cutting out sections of peoples' brains to try and cure their mental illnesses. However, I strongly suspect that like me nana was an Aspie. Looking at pictures of her she seems very strange to look at. Somewhat distant.

I do know she hated leaving the house and basically spoiled my father to death.

I don't know if this helps any, but every single last one of her grand children (Myself, my brother, my three cousins and my nana's daughters child) all suffer from crushing depression problems and either are, or have been on, some form of SSRI for it.

It's been very difficult to find history on it as my father's family all died very young. His sister was 47 and suffered a brain haemorrhage and my father was 35 when he died. His father also died very young from a heart condition and his brother died when he was 64 of the same thing, having had a double bypass.

Thankfully my heart seems to be OK but my brother takes medication as he has high blood pressure.

my father, brother, a cousin, aunt and i all have been diagnosed with aspergers syndrome. So i definatly think its somewhat genetic. Seems to run fairly string in dads side of the family.

I've noticed traits here and there in other family members, but none of them would ever get a diagnosis.

It runs in my dad's side of the family too. I'm the only one with an official diagnoses but my dad has many aspie traits, his brother is definitely Asperger's my grandpa had a few of the traits and my great-grandmother had a brother who was described as very strange and could never hold down a job.

Spectrum disorders can be genetic, or environmental, or traumatic (problems in the womb or at birth) in cause, or a combination of these.

I don't believe this runs in my family, except my sister is an NT with some traits--she took one of the online tests. Our mother had non spectrum mental health issues that were never diagnosed. We did not realize this until she got older, as her problems became more obvious with age. And also even harder to deal with.

Same here.

I've actually been told that it's as if someone cloned me from my dad. I'd be interested in seeing how he'd score on the aspie quiz. Not sure if I could talk to him about this stuff though. I don't think we've ever had an actual conversation. We can ride in a car for hours and say only a few words.

Last edited by jetbuilder on 08 Apr 2012, 11:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

But I would think aspies and people on the spectrum would have a hard time with dating, marriage and having kids, so why didn't it just "die out" a long time ago? I do believe it was on my father's side of the family but if it wasn't for the 50s go to church/get married/have kids that was going on he probably would not have had us. If it runs in families, it can't be too easy to pass on. Most people I know, including myself have never been married, have no interest in kids, and don't want any kids.