Can twins be autistic?

Studies in identical twins have shown that autism has a strong genetic basis: If one identical twin has autism, the other one has it, too, as much as 90 percent of the time. The new work supports these estimates: In 64 of the 78 twin pairs, both twins have an autism diagnosis.

How common is autism in twins?

Careful collection: Based on data from 192 pairs of twins, the new study found a concordance rate for autism spectrum disorders of 77 percent among identical twin boys and 31 percent among fraternal twin boys.

Is autism found in twins?

The researchers determined a 96% chance that if one twin has ASD, the other has it, too. However, symptom scores varied greatly between twins diagnosed with ASD. The researchers estimated that genetic factors contributed to only 9% of the cause of trait variation among these twins.

Why do so many twins have autism?

Studies in twins have shown that autism has genetic origins: A child is more likely to have autism if his or her sibling or twin also has the disorder. But there is also evidence that factors other than genetics, collectively referred to as 'the environment,' play a role.

Are twins more likely to have disabilities?

A number of studies have shown that, even among children of similar birth weight and gestational age, twins are more likely to suffer from the disorder.

When One Twin Has Autism

Can one twin be autistic and not the other?

In a similar way, only one identical twin can get ASD, even though they have the same genetic ingredients. One twin's brain environment may trigger ASD. But, the other twin's environment could be different enough to not trigger the identical set of genes.

When do twins start talking?

When Your Twins Should Start Talking. By 18 months, your twins should be able to say around twenty words. These will be simple words like mama and dadda. Your children will use various sounds and rhythms to “talk” as they play and interact with others.

Is it common for twins to have delayed speech?

Numerous studies have established that twins, triplets and other sets of multiples have a higher likelihood of speech delays. (It's also more common in identical twins and multiples than in fraternal.)

Are twins developmentally delayed?

Conclusions: Healthy twins should be considered at a higher risk for developmental delay. Whether these results are comparable to preterm singletons, or whether there are twin-specific issues involved, should be further investigated in a study that uses a matched singleton control group.

Are twins less intelligent?

Twins on the average seem to have lower IQs than singletons. The best estimate for this group difference is 4.2 IQ points (less than one-third of a standard deviation), with a great divide between study outcomes of less vs more recent birth cohorts (5.1 vs 0.5 IQ points, respectively).

What are some challenges twins might face?

Do twins babies know each other?

The results suggest that twin fetuses are aware of their counterparts in the womb, that they prefer to interact with them, and that they respond to them in special ways. Contact between them appeared to be planned—not an accidental outcome of spatial proximity, says study co-author Cristina Becchio of Turin.

Can twin babies understand each other?

Young twins are together nearly all the time, and like any two people who spend most of their time together, they learn to rely on nonverbal or shorthand forms of communication. They're able to act intuitively, understanding each other's gestures, grunts, or vocalizations.

Do twins have a special language?

Twins are regularly reported to invent languages of their own, unintelligible to others. These languages are known as autonomous languages, cryptophasia or idioglossia. Despite current belief, this is not a rare phenomenon. Autonomous languages exist in about 40% of all twins, but often disappear soon.

How can you tell if a baby has autism?

Can twins have the same mental disorder?

Thus, if the only factor behind any mental disease is an inherited defect, then both identical twins will always show the same type of mental disorder. Rosanoff ( 12-15), by a mass study of a large number of twins has shown that with a few exceptions, such as Huntington's chorea, this is not the case.

Can a twin feel when the other dies?

When a twin dies, the twinless twin longs to reconnect. The twinless twin may have phantom pain or feel half dead. He or she may feel a need to represent both him or herself and the deceased twin or may even take on behaviors of the deceased twin. Dr.

What are some fun facts about twins?

Why do twins have a secret language?

The theory behind this "twin language" goes a little something like this: twins are so close to each other and rely on each other so much that they don't have as much of a need to communicate with the outside world, so they make up their own idiosyncratic language that develops only between the two of them.

Do twins have better social skills?

Twins will have better communication skills and less sibling rivalry than other children, a study shows. 'Multiple' siblings will have closer bonds than siblings of different ages and are likely to be best friends until adulthood, experts say.

Why twins are so special?

Identical twins share a particularly intense bond. They are the result of one fertilized egg splitting into two, giving them identical DNA. (Fraternal twins are the result of two separate, genetically different fertilized eggs.) As a result, identical twins are as close as two people can be.

Are twins more social?

In Study 1, 5-year-olds (N = 91 twins and N = 152 singletons) engaged in a peer play situation with an unfamiliar, same-age, same-sex peer, and they were rated on items assessing prosocial and aggressive behaviors. Results showed that twins were less prosocial but not more aggressive than were singletons.

Are twins harder to raise?

“Having twins is not twice as hard—it's exponentially more difficult,” says Natalie Diaz, author of What To Do When You're Having Two and CEO of Twiniversity, a global support network for parents of twins.

Do twins struggle to make friends?

Some twin pairs who spend lots of time together with little opportunity to be with other children might find it challenging at first to make friends with other children. They become accustomed to the nonverbal ease of their twin connection.

Do twins cry more than single babies?

Although it may seem as though twin babies and multiples do a lot more crying than singletons, especially when they're taking turns sobbing, there's no evidence that they spend more time wailing than other babies. Individually, each baby probably cries about the same amount as others.