Anyone with ASD DC1 and NT DS2 less than 2 years apart?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I respectfully disagree with the previous post that said there is nothing you can do about it. If I had it to do all over again, there are many things I would have done differently. Make sure you take plenty of vitamin D. This will prevent maternal bone loss that occurs during pregnancy and the release of maternal toxins like heavy metals that collect over your life span and can be released from bone storage to the developing fetus through the placenta. Don't get any dental work done while pregnant and wear a night guard if you have mercury amalgam fillings, especially if you grind your teeth or drink a lot of hot liquids. Drink filtered water only. Don't get a flu shot. The flu shot is one vaccine that still contains thimerosol/mercury preservative. Don't eat fish, especially large species. Avoid high fructose corn syrup. Eat adequate cholesterol (eg eggs) since cholesterol is so important for the developing brain. Eat lots of organic leafy greens. Determine your MTHFR gene status. If you have this common mutation you should not take folic acid, but metafolin/folate.

I'm not going to address most of this, but I did want to point out: You should be very aggressive about dental work while pregnant. Definitely get regular cleanings, and some women while pregnant may need cleanings spaced every 3 months rather than 6 months. Gingivitis is serious and can cause preterm labor/early delivery. I had 2 teeth extracted while pregnant, better to get them out than wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. My 3 year old DS is ASD and my one year old DS so far is NT.

It scares me half to death when I call DS2 and he doesn't look right away.

We weren't expecting DS2 and DS1 was only 14 months by the time I got pregnant again. I do not recommend this.

My one year old is only 16 months so only time will tell.

OP here. Wow, that's exactly our situation! DS seemed to develop normally for the first year, so no one suspected anything, including the pediatrician. Thanks for posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think spacing is a magic bullet either. As someone who works in the field I have seen many scenarios of age gaps between siblings that are diagnosed (or are NT).

You're right, of course it's not. Do you happen to know what the odds are when all these risk factors are combined (ASD sibling, less than 2 years apart and the younger a boy?) Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I know a family with 3 Boys. Twins are 4 yrs6M and little one is 2Yr5M. Only one Twin is ASD but the remaining two are NT kids.

Thanks for posting. Twins are a mystery, especially the monozygotic ones exposed to the same environmental factors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine are 17 months apart. We don't have a diagnosis of ASD for our older son, but he has speech/communication delay (and seems very spectrumy to us) and receives special ed services. Our younger child, also a son, is NT.

During my second pregnancy, I had dental work, drank unfiltered water, ate zero eggs and very little cholesterol, could not stomach leafy greens for the full nine months, had a flu shot, and wasn't great about remembering prenatal vitamins.

I think that wen though there are genetic and statistical risk factors, the whole thing is still a big crap shoot.

You sound like a very concerned mom and I know how hard it is not to worry. However, all kids will have their strengths and weaknesses, and I find it reassuring to remind myself that being NT isn't some guarantee of success or an easy future, and being ASD or special needs doesn't mean everything will be hard. My younger NT son is three, and now that my older son is doing great with his school and therapy, he's the easy one! All the best to you!

Thanks for posting, you're not the first one to say this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I respectfully disagree with the previous post that said there is nothing you can do about it. If I had it to do all over again, there are many things I would have done differently. Make sure you take plenty of vitamin D. This will prevent maternal bone loss that occurs during pregnancy and the release of maternal toxins like heavy metals that collect over your life span and can be released from bone storage to the developing fetus through the placenta. Don't get any dental work done while pregnant and wear a night guard if you have mercury amalgam fillings, especially if you grind your teeth or drink a lot of hot liquids. Drink filtered water only. Don't get a flu shot. The flu shot is one vaccine that still contains thimerosol/mercury preservative. Don't eat fish, especially large species. Avoid high fructose corn syrup. Eat adequate cholesterol (eg eggs) since cholesterol is so important for the developing brain. Eat lots of organic leafy greens. Determine your MTHFR gene status. If you have this common mutation you should not take folic acid, but metafolin/folate.

I'm not going to address most of this, but I did want to point out: You should be very aggressive about dental work while pregnant. Definitely get regular cleanings, and some women while pregnant may need cleanings spaced every 3 months rather than 6 months. Gingivitis is serious and can cause preterm labor/early delivery. I had 2 teeth extracted while pregnant, better to get them out than wait.

I was already doing a lot of what PP1's advised. The exceptions: I do get dental checkups and would have dental work, if needed for reasons PP2 listed; I eat fish low in mercury (it was recommended); and got the flu vaccine in the first month of being pregnant.

Thanks to all the supportive PPs. You're right that there's not much I can do now that we're not doing already, and I just have to wait. Patience isn't my strongest virtue, but my little one is already teaching me so many important lessons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think spacing is a magic bullet either. As someone who works in the field I have seen many scenarios of age gaps between siblings that are diagnosed (or are NT).

Yes, I know a few families with children on the spectrum, age gap wider than 2 yrs.

[Anonymous]

We have 3 kids on the spectrum, two are 21 months apart, the last one is 5 years younger than the middle child. Both genders. Spacing made absolutely no difference in our case.

[Anonymous]

3 children: ASD Boy - 21 months apart from NT boy - 30 months apart from NT girl

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have 3 kids on the spectrum, two are 21 months apart, the last one is 5 years younger than the middle child. Both genders. Spacing made absolutely no difference in our case.

That must be hard, I'm sorry. Do they have the same severity levels?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have 3 kids on the spectrum, two are 21 months apart, the last one is 5 years younger than the middle child. Both genders. Spacing made absolutely no difference in our case.

That must be hard, I'm sorry. Do they have the same severity levels?

Thanks. They are all considered high-functioning, though the oldest did not start out that way. Honestly, the hardest part is all the co-morbid conditions on top of the autism. We have the entire laundry list of epilepsy, ADHD, GAD, OCD... With lots of therapies they are all making tremendous progress though, so it's worth the fight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I respectfully disagree with the previous post that said there is nothing you can do about it. If I had it to do all over again, there are many things I would have done differently. Make sure you take plenty of vitamin D. This will prevent maternal bone loss that occurs during pregnancy and the release of maternal toxins like heavy metals that collect over your life span and can be released from bone storage to the developing fetus through the placenta. Don't get any dental work done while pregnant and wear a night guard if you have mercury amalgam fillings, especially if you grind your teeth or drink a lot of hot liquids. Drink filtered water only. Don't get a flu shot. The flu shot is one vaccine that still contains thimerosol/mercury preservative. Don't eat fish, especially large species. Avoid high fructose corn syrup. Eat adequate cholesterol (eg eggs) since cholesterol is so important for the developing brain. Eat lots of organic leafy greens. Determine your MTHFR gene status. If you have this common mutation you should not take folic acid, but metafolin/folate.

PP I hope you're not blaming yourself. I'm a little concerned that posts like these will lead to women blaming themselves for autism in their children (or lead their family members to blame the moms!)
When my own thoughts go in that direction, I only have to look at my husband, because he is autistic in all the same ways my son is (though we didn't realize it yet when we married.) My pregnancy with my son was completely different from my DH's mom's with him, and yet the way his brain and my son's brain differ from "neurotypical" is so much the same.

[Anonymous]

Mine are two boys and 25 months apart- so just over 2 years.

Oldest has ASD - fairly mild as things go
Younger does not have ASD, but has ADHD, dyslexia and dysgraphia.

The ASD, ADHD and dysgraphia were fairly easy to find in the family tree. The dyslexia is not.

Other mitigating factor- while both were hospitalized with RSV before one year, the younger one had a few days where his Oxygen levels were in the low 90’s.

The older one is a junior in college studying electrical computer engineering. The younger one is a freshman studying math and physics. Their father is a physics and electrical engineer, mother a statistician, and their maternal grandfather was a theoretical physicist. We only grow math and science people in our family.