Many express that the experience of having a sibling on the autism spectrum, while sometimes placing limitations on their personal and social life, has also led them to be a better person, valuing traits such as compassion, patience and empathy, and often leading to careers working with people with special needs.
Researchers found that autistic children with typical older siblings have better social skills than do those without siblings. Typical children may act as role models to their younger siblings with autism, the researchers suggest.
Siblings of autistic children naturally develop the tools to see the challenges thrown their way in life for the gifts they can be. They develop the strength and creativity to use those gifts towards compassionate, collaborative, individualized success.
Siblings of a young person with ASD can feel a range of emotions that they may be reluctant to express: resentment about the amount of time and energy their parents devote to their sibling with autism and the other negative effects on their life (such as not being able to invite friends over to the house)
Teenage and child siblings of an autistic person
You may feel that your autistic brother or sister doesn't get told off as often as you do and that your parents give them more attention. As a sibling this may make you feel angry, sad, jealous, frustrated and/or confused.
Children who have an older sister with autism are more likely to also have the condition than are those who have an older brother on the spectrum. The risk is higher among younger brothers than younger sisters.
Faith Jegede tells the moving and funny story of growing up with her two brothers, both autistic -- and both extraordinary. In this talk from the TED Talent Search, she reminds us to pursue a life beyond what is normal.
In fact, the odds were around one in five, or 20 percent. In my team's recent study (mentioned above), we found that that younger siblings who do not go on to develop autism are at risk for more subtle, autism-like traits very early in life. Around 20 percent have one or more of these delays or difficulties.
Roughly 3 to 5% of children with an aunt or uncle with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can also be expected to have ASD, compared to about 1.5% of children in the general population, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders. Communication challenges. Difficulties with emotional regulation. Executive functioning problems.
Communication challenges. Verbal communication is a challenge for some children with ASD. For parents of such children, communication is a problem that compounds the stress & anxiety of parents. Parents face the challenge that their child is unable to communicate their needs and wants.
Autistic children love their parents
You may have to learn to see how your child expresses affection and not take it personally if your child doesn't show affection in the way that typical children do.
Since autism is less prevalent in females, autism was always thought to be passed down from the mother. However, research suggests that autism genes are usually inherited from the father.
Jealousy in children with autism and their siblings may look different. For their siblings, jealousy can appear as anger or deep sadness and retreat from a typically developing sibling. The most common reason for jealousy is undoubtedly the extra attention that the sibling with autism receives.
Does The Father Or Mother Carry The Autism Gene? Autism was always thought to have a maternal inheritance component, however, research suggests that the rarer variants associated with the disorder are usually inherited from the father.
Can autism skip a generation? Yes, it's possible for autism to skip a generation. This is because the genes that contribute to autism can be passed down from grandparents to grandchildren, even if the parents do not have the condition.
Genetic factors are estimated to contribute 40 to 80 percent of ASD risk. The risk from gene variants combined with environmental risk factors, such as parental age, birth complications, and others that have not been identified, determine an individual's risk of developing this complex condition.
Remember that every child with autism is different, and each will react differently to a new sibling. At one extreme, some children will be affected by every change in the home, be it environmental or sensory. On the other extreme, some children may seem unaware and even oblivious to the new child, especially at first.
Parents of children with autism can be under tremen- dous stress. It may seem like there is never enough time to do everything that needs to be done. So much focus and attention is placed on the child with autism, that it is common for parents to have little time or energy left to focus on their other children.
They include sharing things, taking turns, communicating with others, imagining what other people are thinking and feeling, and so on. Playing with others can also lay the foundation for early friendships.
At the same time, firstborn children also showed an increased incidence — 30 percent more than second-borns and 70 percent more than those born third or later.
Parents who have a child with ASD have a 2 to 18 percent chance of having a second child who is also affected. Studies have shown that among identical twins, if one child has autism, the other will be affected about 36 to 95 percent of the time.
It's something you're born with. Signs of autism might be noticed when you're very young, or not until you're older. If you're autistic, you're autistic your whole life. Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a "cure".
There are many different factors that have been identified that may make a child more likely to have ASD, including environmental, biologic, and genetic factors.