Yes, autistic people can have kids. Although there is a chance of passing on certain genetic conditions associated with autism, many couples in which one or both partners are on the autism spectrum choose to have children and research suggests that this is generally a positive experience.
While a person with moderate or severe autism is unlikely to have the skills to raise a child, many people with high-functioning autism are ready, willing, and able, to take on the challenges of raising kids. Many aspects of parenting and guardianship can be tougher for those on the autism spectrum.
Though parenting can be challenging and rewarding for all parents, autistic parents may face specific challenges related to their autism. But autistic people can have children, and many do. Parents on the spectrum can offer unique strengths to parenting.
Children with an autistic parent or sibling have 9 times the usual odds of autism and 4.1 times the odds of having autism with intellectual disability.
At the same time, it is important to remember that being on the autism spectrum can be accompanied by unique strengths that can be drawn upon when parenting, particularly if the family also has a child on the autism spectrum. Just like any other adults, people on the autism spectrum can be exemplary parents.
Research suggests that autism genes are usually inherited from the father, despite some research showing it's passed down from the mother.
About 35% of autistic people are married, though such figures don't always take into account people that aren't diagnosed or have received a potential misdiagnosis.
Interpretation of existing studies is limited but a relatively recent study funded by the NIH using a case-control design found no evidence to support an increase in risk of ASD associated with infertility.
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.
Evidence for autism being subject to assortative mating comes from a study by Nordsletten et al. which reported that a person diagnosed with autism is 10–12 times more likely to marry or have a child with another autistic person than is someone without such a diagnosis.
Like every relationship there are bound to be ups and downs and, just like people who are not autistic, some on the spectrum may have difficulty finding their 'true love'. However, speaking from both an ethical and legal standpoint, then yes, people with autism can get married.
In the largest study of its kind, researchers have shown that the risk of autism increases for firstborn children and children of older parents. The risk of a firstborn with an autism spectrum disorder triples after a mother turns 35 and a father reaches 40.
There is not just one cause of ASD. 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.
Autism is a disability under the ADA. Some adults and children with autism can access Social Security benefits, including disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
It is estimated that 1 in 100 people in Australia have Autism. In 2018 there were 205,200 Australians with Autism, a 25.1% increase from the 164,000 in 2015 (Source: ABS SDAC 2018– Autism in Australia). This means that if you have Autism you are not alone.
Key Autism Statistics & Facts
In 2023, the CDC reported that around 1 in 36 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism. Autism prevalence has increased 178% since 2000. The country with the highest rate of diagnosed autism in the world is Qatar, and the country with the lowest rate is France.
A common question after an autism diagnosis is what is the cause of autism. We know that there's no one cause of autism. Research suggests that autism develops from a combination of genetic and nongenetic, or environmental, influences. These influences appear to increase the risk that a child will develop autism.
We have differing presentations as all autistics do, but we exist. We have a future of autistic girls who will grow up and may become mothers. We owe it to them to recognise and empower them. For all of its messiness – and life is messy – life and motherhood can be positive, wonderful experiences.
Among families with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, Johns Hopkins University researchers say they have found a link between chemical “marks” on DNA in the sperm of fathers and autistic traits in their 3-year-old children.
Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls. Most children were still being diagnosed after age 4, though autism can be reliably diagnosed as early as age 2.
1 in 100 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as of 2021. Autism prevalence has increased 178% since 2000. The country with the highest rate of diagnosed autism in the world is Qatar, and the country with the lowest rate is France.
Long-term research that involved following a group of individuals with autism for two decades indicates that the average life expectancy for some autistic people is about 39 years. Furthermore, this population generally succumbed to health complications about 20 years earlier than individuals who do not have autism.
Love and affection may be felt but expressed differently
They may show love, for example, through a practical act, and tidy up for you, or iron your shirt, rather than through a more neurotypical way of looking at you and telling you or using physical affection.