If one of your children have special needs,

[mo2]

are the others likely to as well? I'm sure a lot of it depends on the specific special need. But, say you have one dyslexic child. Are your others at higher risk of being dyslexic? Or SPD, is it frequent in siblings?

 

Just curious. I see some sig lines around here with multiple children with special needs, and some with only one.

[Lori in MS]

With dyslexia there is a 50% chance that other siblings will have it too. And grandchildren as well.

[Renee in NC]

So far, all of my ds's show signs of dyslexia (except the baby - he isn't old enough to know.) My two oldest are the mildest, my 9yo the worst, and my 7yo - not sure.

 

My 12yo and my 9yo both have sensory issues, but on opposite sides of the spectrum.

 

My 17yo and 9yo are both diagnosed ADHD.

 

My 7 and 9yo both have Expressive-Receptive Disorder.

 

The dyslexia and ADD definitely come from my side of the family. Dh is adopted so we don't know his background.

[Dobela]

There are many variables. My brother has autism. I have no disabilities. One of our cousins has mild learning disabilities but not autism.

 

ETA: both of my children have special needs. Both are adopted and we know little about family histories. My son's LDs have been a suprise in some ways. My daughter was born at 26 weeks gestation weighing under 2 pounds. Her special needs are different from my son's but directly related to the birth history. They are not related biologically.

[momtotkbb]

My brother is a gifted/dyslexic - he has a ds that is an Aspie. I have 4 dc ---three have been fully evaluated and have the following dx:

gifted/LD (dyslexic/dysgraphic)/ADD-inattentive; gifted/LD in written expression --now looking into possibility of ADD/ADHD too; gifted/LD(dyslexic/dysgraphic)/ADHD/SPD. The 4th has only been dx as SPD --he will be going through a full battery within the year and I fully suspect the same dx as the last one.

 

When I did my graduate work and the whole time I worked in the field I found lots of families that had multiple kids or family members w/ ADD/ADHD and/or LD's.

[LizzyBee]

I have two that are dyslexic - one mild, one severe. But dh, oldest dd, and I have no dyslexic tendencies whatsoever.

[RamonaQ]

One of the things we have been continuously asked by people that are knowledgeable in dyslexia, is there a familial history of "reading challenges". In my dh family, yes. My family, none.

 

My son has been diagnosed as dyslexic, however, my dd is very much not (although I would say she is rather sassy, and there are days I might consider that a LD ;-)

[AngieW in Texas]

oldest - definitely ADD, possibly Asperger's

middle - definitely Asperger's, auditory processing delays (mostly corrected), gross motor delays (corrected), sensory issues (partially corrected), still some fine motor delays

youngest - dyslexic, visual efficiency delays (corrected), visual processing delays (partly corrected)

Edited September 29, 2010 by AngieW in Texas

[Renee in NC]

There are many variables. My brother has autism. I have no disabilities. One of our cousins has mild learning disabilities but not autism.

 

ETA: both of my children have special needs. Both are adopted and we know little about family histories. My son's LDs have been a suprise in some ways. My daughter was born at 26 weeks gestation weighing under 2 pounds. Her special needs are different from my son's but directly related to the birth history. They are not related biologically.

 

My 9yo suffered "Failure to Thrive" from ages 8 months to probably 18 months. He has been developmentally delayed since that happened, so his problems are not really a surprise. Some of my 7yo's problems are possibly "learned" behaviors as he and my 9yo have been raised like twins (they were developmentally the same as toddlers/preschoolers.)

 

A PP mentioned "reading challenges" in family members. We have those as well. My brother didn't learn to read well until 5th-6th grade (same for my oldest ds.) A cousin was about the same age when she finally got over the reading hump - she did go on to Duke University and has a PhD in Biology, so there is hope yet!:D

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[amyable]

Oldest has dylsexia - no others are showing signs. We have reason to believe her dyslexia may have been caused or at least exacerbated by an awful reaction to her immunizations as a baby (brain swelling possible), so that wouldn't be something "passed on" genetically. Dd #2 is hearing impaired, no other kids are.

 

Now, 3 out of 5 of them have food allergies, but that's probably not the kind of "special need" you were thinking of. :)

[siloam]

You can trace dyslexia back several generations on my side. On my dh's side his sister had it, so it is no surprise the kids all have some degree of it.

 

My oldest shows signs of being dysgrapic (can't trace a line and stay on it to save her life-none of us can), and dyscalculic (scores higher on concepts than computation).

 

My 2nd dd is probably the mildest, and is also very right brained. If I am using RB material you almost don't notice the dyslexia at all, but mild dysgraphia shows. But she is also mildly OCD, and for a while that was a horrible combination because she was obsessing over reading every word perfect, which is almost impossible for a dyslexic. I had to record her books for a year to read with, and ban her from the rewind button. She did get over it and is a strong reader now, and her OCD issues continue to be almost nonexistent as long as she stays in routine. If the routine is messed up for several days/weeks then they start showing up again.

 

My 3rd dd is just like me. She is mild to mid level dyslexic and dysgraphic. She generally eventually gets there, but it takes her more time. Luckily she is a very happy go lucky child and none of it bothers her.

 

My ds I am still puzzling out. He had a lot of ear infections as a child. Even now all the kids have had a cold, he was the first to get it and now a week later he has the most signs of still having it. I half think he must have really small nose and ear passages so things affect him more. He also had the best hearing my Pediatrician had ever seen. Anyway he has auditory processing issues maybe due to having extra sensitive hearing, dysgraphia and dyslexia.

 

Though none of mine have been officially tested. DH isn't into it and I don't see a need to push. I have been able to meet the kids needs so far with out it.

 

Heather

[texasmama]

I have one child with a learning disability and SPD. The others don't have these issues. I believe that in the case of my child, something happened in utero to alter him neurologically. I don't really know what that was, but it is my theory. His issues are not genetic.

[gardenmom5]

are the others likely to as well? I'm sure a lot of it depends on the specific special need. Or SPD, is it frequent in siblings?

 

I have five children:grouphug:, four have had some form testing, and all test positive for VMI delays, and forms of hypersensitivity/dsicrimination. 1dd has auditory hypersensitivity - she was also my easiest. (she was every teacher's dream student. I was shocked when she tested lower on her focusing ability, but she completely agreed with the results.) The rest all have various degress of SPD, though I had never heard of it until last summer when the youngest was diagnosed. 2dd did three year years of gymnastics, and I think it acted like OT for her. She still doesn't like to be touched, but otherwise is doing the best of all of them.

 

I'm on SPD support groups, and there are families for whom only one child is SPD. I will say, the more I've learned about SPD, the more I see it in myself. I still have some hypersensitivities. I've also seen SPD/asperger's traits in several extended family on both sides. It's causes are pretty complex though.

 

So, how prevelant is it in your extended family?

Edited October 28, 2010 by gardenmom5

[Laura Corin]

There does tend to be some overlap. I talked to Calvin's OT about this and she said that there seemed to be some genetic component that could occur in more than one child. She did also say that some families that initially present with multiple problems sometimes turn out to have underlying social issues which can mimic established diagnoses.

 

FWIW, Calvin was variously diagnosed as having sensory processing disorder and dyspraxia. Hobbes has a stutter (which is also a neurological/coordination issue). My brother 'clutters', another related speech disorder, and may be dyslexic. The speech and language pathologist specifically asked about dyslexia in the family when first interviewing me about Hobbes, because of common clusters of the two issues in families.

 

Laura

[emonline]

I had asked this question to my children's doctor a while back, and he said he had not read anything that would confirm that learning disabilities ran in families. He seemed to think it was mostly anecdotal evidence that it might. So -- perhaps no one knows for certain? I do believe that one a child has exhibited some type of learning issue, you become more aware of possible issues, both in your own children and in other people's children.

[Mandy in TN]

Dyslexia runs in my xh family. My oldest ds is dyslexic/ mildly gifted. Second ds is neither gifted nor dyslexic. The only thing out of ordinary in his pych/ed was a tendency toward perfectionism with a complete disintegration of skills in timed situations. So, with his meltdowns, when second ds was younger, he actually came across as the one with an LD.:glare:

 

Mandy

 

[razorbackmama]

It depends on the problem. Dyslexia is definitely genetic - they have even isolated which gene it's on. Other things...it just all depends.

 

My oldest has Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder. I suspect that much of his problem is environmental, but I'm not going to go there in my mind because it will make me too upset.

 

My 2nd was diagnosed with PDD-NOS when he was 4, but he has outgrown many of his behaviors. He did display many "autistic characteristics" when he was that age, but I'm beginning to wonder if they are truly "autistic" or whether they are just quirky. He's super smart but was a late bloomer maturity-wise. He also has some inattentive ADD tendencies.

 

We suspect my 3rd has dyslexia. She will be tested at the beginning of December.

 

I suspect my 4th has dyslexia and ADHD. I'm thinking dysgraphia as well. I do suspect that much of his is some sort of organic cause in nature - he's addicted to carbs and dairy, for example. Just haven't had the time to research and experiment. (Plus I need a lot of inner strength to deal with the trauma that would accompany radical changes in diet, and I don't have that right now.)

 

My 5th is a total dreamboat. Taught herself to read at age 5. Super bright. Super precocious.

 

My 6th is a spitfire, and aside from her attitude problems, she's just like #5.

 

Not sure about #7, but so far he's following in the footsteps of #5 and #7 since he is already learning to walk, and he's not even 10 months yet. (My oldest 4 were over a year old before they were walking.)

 

The only difference between the first 4 and the last 3 is that I started taking fish oil in some form or fashion after #4. So maybe whatever triggered the problems in the first 4 is related to inadequate EFA intake???????????????????? Totally just a random theory though.

 

Oh. I suspect that my dh has mild dyslexia and ADHD as well.