# Causes of Aspergers & Dyspraxia?



## birdiex

I've got both, and they've caused me great difficulty in my time.

I was just sat in the bath and I was thinking about OH taking the mick out of one of my baby photos (I had a pointy head and a lazy eye, they put the forceps on my head wrong during delivery) and I suddenly came up with an idea.

Maybe the dyspraxia was caused by the forceps putting pressure on my head incorrectly and causing damage to my cerebellum? (The little bit at the back of your brain responsible for motor memory ect) I then thought that by this principle, Aspergers could be caused by damage to different parts of the brain too.

I just wanted to ask, to see if this had any basis, if Aspie or Dyspraxia babies Mum's had had forceps, or anything that may have caused a little bit of trauma to the brain during delivery?

I do realise this might be a sensitive question to ask, but I'm hoping nobody will be offended! Please don't read and run!


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## kelzyboo

From what i know Asperger's isn't caused by birth trauma of any kind, There are lots of different opinions on what causes it but as of yet they cannot pin point a cause.

I don't know anything about dyspraxia but i'm sure there are lots of things you can find out on the internet (although it's not all helpful)

My little girl was recently diagnosed with Asperger's, she had a very normal delivery no intervention of any kind so i'm sure that wasn't the cause of her's. She is a true blessing and i know she will lead a relatively normal life despite the difficulties she may face in the future.

I don't like to get stuck on what may have caused it, after all theres nothing i can do about it now and she has so many positive attributes it's just not helpful to me. I prefer to look for the positives and remind myself that a person is so much more than a label. It's easier to find ways to adapt and learn to deal with the challanges of Asperger's than to waste time wondering why it is that way. 

I'm sure you are a fantastic person with lots of great qualities, by all means find out as much information as you can about your condition but please don't forget all of the good things about yourself, everything that your family and OH love about you. Your difficulties make you who you are!

hope this helps a little xx


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## birdiex

Thankyou hun!
That does help :)


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## Adanma

My son with aspergers never even made it to the birth canal and was a c section. I had polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid) and I also had my contractions started with a lot of pitocin. There seems to be some genetic component to it since couples with one child on the spectrum have about a 20% chance to have another. I wish I did know what causes it, just because I am a curious person. I do however see a great deal of myself in my son though I have never been diagnosed, so the genetic idea does make sense to me. The cause of the great numbers now being diagnosed? I have no idea. Maybe there are people predisposed to the condition and then adding chemical or hormonal components causes it to activate? No clue.

Adanma


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## morri

What they found is thatr it is mostly geneticm, and what they found too is that traits can apparently add up too, through out the generations.


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## birdiex

That's interesting - thanks girls!


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## KandyKinz

Having many individuals in my family who have been diagnosed as having a autism spectrum disorder and believing that I myself could also very well be classified as having aspergers and dyspraxia if I were to ever be assessed I have looked into this subject quite alot.

The strongest factor identified in relation to disorders in the autism spectrum is genetics... but there have also been associations linking austism/aspergers to things including thimerosal in vaccines, frequent ultrasound exposure in utero, food allergens and exposure, certain viral exposures. It's also been associated with advanced parental age (of both the mother or father), diabetes (including gestational), teratogen exposure in pregnancy (especially to alcohol and pesticides), low birth weight, oxygen deprivation in utero and prematurity increases the risk. And I also recall one study specific to prematurity which mentioned that if the baby suffered any brain hemorrhage postpartum they were at an increased risk (BUT I would imagine it would also make sense that head trauma (from forceps, etc) in a baby at term could also increse the risk????). Then there's the breastmilk/formula debate......

So there's alot of theories and associations out there... many more than I even posted... but it's my opinion that it's probably a combination of those above factors with genetics that has the strongest influences as to whether or not a child with develop an ASD and to what degree they will have it at.... 

And then sometimes I think that needing or wanting to conform to what the rest of society considers to be "normal" behaviour is a bit over-rated.... but perhaps that's just my own aspergers speaking....


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## Midnight_Fairy

My son has high functioning autism. I had a perfect pregnancy and a natural delivery with no aids or drugs. I think in this case my sons ASD is purely spontaneous or genetic x


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## birdiex

KandyKinz said:


> Having many individuals in my family who have been diagnosed as having a autism spectrum disorder and believing that I myself could also very well be classified as having aspergers and dyspraxia if I were to ever be assessed I have looked into this subject quite alot.
> 
> The strongest factor identified in relation to disorders in the autism spectrum is genetics... but there have also been associations linking austism/aspergers to things including thimerosal in vaccines, frequent ultrasound exposure in utero, food allergens and exposure, certain viral exposures. It's also been associated with advanced parental age (of both the mother or father), diabetes (including gestational), teratogen exposure in pregnancy (especially to alcohol and pesticides), low birth weight, oxygen deprivation in utero and prematurity increases the risk. And I also recall one study specific to prematurity which mentioned that if the baby suffered any brain hemorrhage postpartum they were at an increased risk (BUT I would imagine it would also make sense that head trauma (from forceps, etc) in a baby at term could also increse the risk????). Then there's the breastmilk/formula debate......
> 
> So there's alot of theories and associations out there... many more than I even posted... but it's my opinion that it's probably a combination of those above factors with genetics that has the strongest influences as to whether or not a child with develop an ASD and to what degree they will have it at....
> 
> And then sometimes I think that needing or wanting to conform to what the rest of society considers to be "normal" behaviour is a bit over-rated.... but perhaps that's just my own aspergers speaking....

That brain hemhorrage bit is interesting, as I wasn't exposed to too much ultrasound technology, none of my family have any ASD conditionss, I was breast-fed.. But I did have all my vaccines and a little head-trauma. Hmmm!

Thanks for all the replies girls, that's been very helpfu;! :kiss:


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## Midnight_Fairy

I love my Indigo boy. It is interesting to know why they are like this but I doubt in my lifetime I will get a solid answer. He is just special to me x


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## Adanma

nicely put Midnight. 

My pregnancy with my aspie son was okay. I had polyhydramnios which made things very large and unconfortable. I was 5'2" and 102 lbs when I got pregnant with him and delivered at 158lbs. He was 9lb 4 oz. I was given a lot of pitocin since my water broke and I was having no contractions. I progressed to 4cm at which point they rebroke the waters. after 18 hours I was still 4cm so they delivered him by section. He was breast fed on demand. No schedule so he ate about every 1.5-2 hours until he was about oh... 16 months and weaned. There was alcohol exposure as I had just suffered a miscarriage and didn't know I was pregnant until I was 7 weeks along with him and also cigarrette usage. He was immunized as per the usual schedule. I never noticed any huge change in him though. It's like he always had it. I think the genetic thing makes a lot of sense.

Adanma


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## kelzyboo

I had an awful pelvic condition when i was carrying my daughter and had to take painkillers and clexane injections (only in the last 2 months of pregnancy) i'm wondering now if that was a factor??

The condition i had caused me pain but didn't affect my little girl in any way, all my ultrasounds were fine and she had a natural delivery although she was in a compound position (one arm up by her head!) 

I don't think i will ever get a deffinate answer as to what caused it, i'm not sure i would want one, i do think it's something to do with genetics and her father has a few of the classic symptoms but has never been diagnosed, maybe i have some tendancies i just can't see in myself?

At the moment i'm trying not to look for the cause of her AS, i trying just to enjoy her and find ways to make things easier for her, i wish i could understand and see the world as she does but i can't i will just have to learn as much as i can and hope that she is able to deal with and cope with her difficulties, which i think she will do very well.

It's like trying to find a reason for why she is who she is, it doesn't make a difference why the only thing that matters to me is that she is a wonderful girl with the most amazing personality and sense of humor, AS is part of who she is but thats not all she is if you know what i mean. I am truly blessed to have her, exactly the way she is, i would never change her even if i could. Some days are hard but i have to remind myself of the brilliant times we have and get on with it.


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## JaniceT

Hi. My niece has dyspraxia, amongst a host of other things. She was delivered naturally without forceps. Until today, there's no known cause for dyspraxia.


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## angelstardust

As far as I am aware, the most recent thoery is to do with a lack of mirror neurons. 

Mirror neurones are only a recent discovery and not much is known about what the do. However it is thought that they are neurones that fire when an act is performed and when that same act is witnessed. eg, a baby copying a smile. The neuron will fire when baby smiles and when baby sees mum (or dad or anyone else) smile. That way the expression is being memorised and filed away in the brain far quicker than if neurones were only firing when the baby smiled. 

So the thoery is that some people are born with less mirror neurones, or mirror neurones not working as they should and this shows later on as some sort of Autism type disorder. 

But what you have to remember with any kind of neurilogical disorder like this is that they are categorising the symptoms, not the cause. A wide range of factors or problems can cause the same symptoms. Unlike in the case of say a tummy upset where they can test and identify the exact virus or bacteria that is causing the upset, with neurological issues they can only classify by sympoms. Think of how many bacteria there are that cause tummy upsets. It is only recently that we can say you have this infection or that infection. 

And in the same way as a tummy upset works, if you had eaten a curry the night before, you would be inclined to blame the curry. But it could be that you touched a door handle that had been contaminated with bacteria and then you ate a biscuit so transfering the bacteria into your digestive system a few days before the curry. 

So you would be inclined to blame any birth trauma for your childs condition (or your own) when it could have been something completly different. 

I hope that makes sence!


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## AimeeM

My son is waiting on a diagnosis of Aspergers, i had a difficult birth with him and i am sure he was starved of oxygen during birth although they say there is nothing on his record to suggest this. I do wonder if it plays a key.


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## Adanma

aimee: I think that the kids may be genetically predisposed to autism, but I strongly feel that chemical or physical traumas can trigger the actual onset. There have been studies done on oxytocin levels during birth and shortly after and the relationship to autism have shown that either too much or too little can cause autistic type behaviours in children, but it's not 100% of the time. There are some docs who treat the symptoms with nasal oxytocin spray and have had good results. I wonder if the high levels of pitocin I was given during delivery may have played a role in my son's asperger's since he has exhibited these behaviours since infancy.

There have also been studies done on pesticide levels in the blood and a correlation to autistic behaviours has been found, but again not 100% of the time. There is anecdotal evidence of a link with immunizations which has been medically disproved, but how do you explain a 2 year old on schedule developmentally and then two weeks after a multiple immunization not talking or making eye contact anymore!? Let alone thousands of 2 year olds that it has happened to?

I think that it's a combo of nature and nurture and we may never really know what causes each child's autism, but it is truly fascinating to me the studeis and the theories behind it all!

Adanma


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## KandyKinz

Adanma said:


> aimee: I think that the kids may be genetically predisposed to autism, but I strongly feel that chemical or physical traumas can trigger the actual onset. There have been studies done on oxytocin levels during birth and shortly after and the relationship to autism have shown that either too much or too little can cause autistic type behaviours in children, but it's not 100% of the time. There are some docs who treat the symptoms with nasal oxytocin spray and have had good results. I wonder if the high levels of pitocin I was given during delivery may have played a role in my son's asperger's since he has exhibited these behaviours since infancy.
> 
> There have also been studies done on pesticide levels in the blood and a correlation to autistic behaviours has been found, but again not 100% of the time. There is anecdotal evidence of a link with immunizations which has been medically disproved, but how do you explain a 2 year old on schedule developmentally and then two weeks after a multiple immunization not talking or making eye contact anymore!? Let alone thousands of 2 year olds that it has happened to?
> 
> I think that it's a combo of nature and nurture and we may never really know what causes each child's autism, but it is truly fascinating to me the studeis and the theories behind it all!
> 
> Adanma

I have never heard of the oxytocin link... quite interesting...

I also wanted to note that the link between immunizations and behavioural disorders has not been completely medically disproved and there have been studies (specifically involving vaccinations with thimersol) which have been positively shown to be associated with an increase in autism spectrum disorders as well as other behavioural conditions. Many places have eliminated thimerosal from their vaccines because of this but some have not eg here in Canada we still have immunizations with thimersol in it including the H1N1 vaccine which contains 50 &#956;g of thimersol (mercury)

Here's some studies which looked at this... I included a brief description of the study and it's results. 

A Case Series of Children with Apparent Mercury Toxic Encephalopathies Manifesting with Clinical Symptoms of Regressive Autistic Disorders * Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues, 1087-2620, Volume 70, Issue 10, 2007, Pages 837  851. Authors: David A. Geiera; Mark R. Geierb --- "Results: Impairments in social relatedness and communication, repetitive behaviors, and stereotypic abnormal movement patterns characterize autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). It is clear that while genetic factors are important to the pathogenesis of ASDs, mercury exposure can induce immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions similar to traits defining or associated with ASDs)...the study looked at children's exposure to vaccines with thimerosal in it as well as fetal exposure to Rhogam which also contains thimerosal.


An Evaluation of the Effects of Thimerosal on Neurodevelopmental Disorders Reported Following DTP and Hib Vaccines in Comparison to DTPH Vaccine in the United States
David A. Geier; Mark R. Geier 
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues, 1087-2620, Volume 69, Issue 15, 2006, Pages 1481  1495
"Significantly increased odds ratios for autism, speech disorders, mental ******ation, infantile spasms, and thinking abnormalities reported to VAERS were found following DTP vaccines in comparison to DTPH vaccines with minimal bias or systematic error." The DTP consisted of 50 &#956;g mercury and the DTPH vaccine had only 25 &#956;g mercury.

Hepatitis B triple series vaccine and developmental disability in US children aged 19 years
Carolyn Gallagher; Melody Goodman 
Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 1029-0486, Volume 90, Issue 5, 2008, Pages 997  1008 "This study found statistically significant evidence to suggest that boys in United States who were vaccinated with the triple series Hepatitis B vaccine, during the time period in which vaccines were manufactured with thimerosal, were more susceptible to developmental disability than were unvaccinated boys." 



But in the end I agree that it's likely a combo of many factors which result in autistic spectrum disorders..... I also believe that different predisposing factors result in different disorders in different children which all manifest themselves with autistic symptoms.... So essentially there are many different "conditions" all displaying the same symptoms so they are being grouped together... if that makes sense


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## AimeeM

Thank you, i would like to add i have ADD and a first cousins child has Aspergers so there is a definate genetic link here too.


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## Midnight_Fairy

I think for the bigger part it is genetic x


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## hopeandpray

I think it is hugely genetic. My ex had 2 cousins that had autism, brothers


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## Vickieh1981

I am pretty sure its not down to any kind of brain damage from birth. I didnt have an instrumental delivery with Andrew and he has aspergers.

However looking at myself and my mother when we were little its pretty obvious we were aspies too.

If I take the autism test now I score higher than Andrew so I tend to think its more hereditary


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## Nic1107

I have high-functioning ASD as well, and I'm definitely inclined to think it's genetic as my mom's entire family seems to have varying levels of ASD-type symptoms all over the spectrum. My mom was 20 when she had me, straightforward pregnancy, long labour but problem-free birth, everything was fine. No illness or trauma as a kid, and if you look back, way back to when I was born, I was always a bit 'different' apparently. :shrug: I think, at the end of the day, it's just another way to 'be', but of course I'm biased because I find more positives than negatives from my autism. :)


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## Edved

My son is 21 and has aspergers and dyspraxia.
He was a difficult birth and starved of oxygen during birth, he also went into Anaphylaxis aged 2 and was starved of oxygen again.
He is in his third year at university where he is studying history and politics with a view to becoming a history teacher, he has worked towards this since the age of 8. He has just got his first serious girlfriend too.
My son is a beautiful bright and caring young man but I worried about his social awareness. At university he went into a deep depression as he doesn't drink alcohol or like parties, this is university life and he felt very lonely. I encouraged him to join activities I knew he would enjoy and he joined the student radio and student cinema and is now very active in both, even having his own radio show. He met his girlfriend at the cinema.
He knows what he is and he has told his girlfriend about how he can be, saying that if he ever upsets her there is a huge chance he never ever meant to, he told her it's not an excuse and I'm sure she won't let him use it as one, I'm just so very glad she cares for him as much as I do and understands like I do, I couldn't ask for better.

I just wanted to join and say this in the hope that it helps others.


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## Midnight_Fairy

Edved said:


> My son is 21 and has aspergers and dyspraxia.
> He was a difficult birth and starved of oxygen during birth, he also went into Anaphylaxis aged 2 and was starved of oxygen again.
> He is in his third year at university where he is studying history and politics with a view to becoming a history teacher, he has worked towards this since the age of 8. He has just got his first serious girlfriend too.
> My son is a beautiful bright and caring young man but I worried about his social awareness. At university he went into a deep depression as he doesn't drink alcohol or like parties, this is university life and he felt very lonely. I encouraged him to join activities I knew he would enjoy and he joined the student radio and student cinema and is now very active in both, even having his own radio show. He met his girlfriend at the cinema.
> He knows what he is and he has told his girlfriend about how he can be, saying that if he ever upsets her there is a huge chance he never ever meant to, he told her it's not an excuse and I'm sure she won't let him use it as one, I'm just so very glad she cares for him as much as I do and understands like I do, I couldn't ask for better.
> 
> I just wanted to join and say this in the hope that it helps others.

:thumbup:


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## corlia

Dear birdiex

My son was born in 1997 with the assistance of forceps, and as I was trying to connect cerebellum damage and the use of forceps and then I came across your letter.

He currently suffers from dyspraxia, Aspergers syndrome and ADHD. And yes we all know Aspergers is not caused by foreceps but foreceps could cause brain injury so I would not rule out damage to your cerebellum.

Regards
Corlia


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## AimeeM

Genetic I believe although I think external influences `trigger` the onset. there are four Aspies in my family. My son however did have decelerations during his birth. He also had a severe reaction to the live Polio vaccine at 8 weeks. He has Aspergers and ADHD I also think Dyspraxia although not diagnosed. My three year old is almost definitely on the brink. He has lots of traits of Autism although not Autistic I believe. Maybe just mannerisms picked up from his older brother..


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## AimeeM

OK, just seen how old the thread is!


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