Is Asperger's hereditary?

[Desertphile]

Even though I have a twin brother who is identical, not fraternal, he does not have it. I do. I was diagnosed at age 10. My mom is bipolar and she says depression runs in the family. She also had me at 38, a few weeks before she turned 39. Could this play a factor in Asperger's?

As far as that. I don't have a dad. Well I do, but I grew up without one so it would be hard to know whoever he is, had Asperger's or not.

I want to know if it is hereditary or something else. I know AS is becoming more common nowadays than it was for my mom back in the 1960s and 1970s. I feel that age plays a factor, I think that it is more common now because people are having kids at an older age like my mom did. Can someone send me a link to a good website that explains this? I don't know any sites that I can trust on a topic like this.

Howdy. Yes, autism is genetic. However it is also epigenetic. A stressed placenta may or may not effect both twins, and express some "autistic genes" otherwise not expressed, if there are other epigenetic issues involved.

Also, there is no evidence that I am aware of that even remotely suggests autism is more common now than any time in the past.

 

[Nihil]

I was born with a genetic disorder called VCFS, which can cause Aspergers, or Aspergers-like symptoms. In my case it was probably hereditary. However, given some events in the family, that could have easily triggered problems in social development (not to mention me being sick often as a child) I'm not sure. It's probably both.

 

[Phanelope]

I also wonder if being raised by an autistic parent, or surrounded by autistic family members, means you are likely to pick up and mimic their traits.

 

[Mary Terry]

There was a recent article in The New York Times about saving baby teeth from autistic children to test them for environmental toxic exposures, such as lead and weedkillers. I personally think ASD is hereditary but the vaccination/mercury theorists are loving the prospect of testing teeth.