Autism heredity?

If a person has autism, does that make there offspring more prone to the disorder. Or is autism not related to heredity.

Sometimes there is a genetic *predisposition* to autism. But it's not always genetic. I have met many autistics on internet groups, and I can tell you there is invariably an association with at least one of the following:

Premature birth

Caesarean birth

Being born a twin

Allergies to milk or wheat

Precociousness at birth

Abuse in infancy

Surgery shortly after birth (usually for cleft palate or heart conditions)

Intestinal distress in infancy

Psychological trauma in infancy

Another poster mentioned spontaneous gene mutations. That's a good point, but it wasn't quite accurate. What actually happens is that environment will trigger a latent gene. You have to look at the following website for the whole story, but I swear it's worth the trouble. It's amazing.

http://www.mcgill.ca/headway/fall2006/in...

It has not yet been linked to heredity, although that may change as more about autism is discovered. I have been reading about autism because it's possible my kids are autistic and have not read that it is hereditary. Nobody knows what causes autism.

Autism so far has not been found to be hereditary. My Cousin discovered he was autistic around the age of 3yrs. when he had not begun talking yet.Aunt and Uncle have nothing wrong with them that may have suggested before that he would be autistic. They have another older child and he shows no sign of being autistic. The most common answer to your question would be yes, but my answer would probably be no only because of the lack of communication that most autistic children have they probably wouldnt grow up and have a wife and kids unless they only have a very mild case of autism. But autism is very unpredictable right now and my guess is that the offspring probably wouldnt produce autism. from the research I have done I think two slightly different things have to be in both parents in order for an offspring to be born autistic, I dont know what they are but I hope to find out soon.

im autistic my parents havnt got it.

Both me and my son have an autistic spectrum disorder.

There are some families that have a history of autism. The current results of genetic testing in autistic kids have shown "spontaneous" mutations occurring. This means the father and mother do not have this genetic defect. It is unknown what "triggers" genes to give rise to an autistic child but it is believed to be some kind of environmental factor.
Mothers who give birth to an autistic child have an increased risk of having another child with autism.
Genetic factors can lead to an increased risk of producing an autistic child but that does not mean that it is hereditary.