Spectrum News and The Atlantic published a great article about how women who have raised a child with autism may be able to spot subtle signs of the condition in their grandchildren.  The RabLab’s Dr. Jen Gerdts is also interviewed in this article!

The article explores research that examines autism-like behavior in relatives of someone on the autism spectrum, like a sibling, an aunt or a grandparent, and the genetic inheritance that may or may not be related.  It looks into the idea that traits that may seem like quirks in a family are perhaps stemmed from mutations that contribute to autism, and likewise spontaneous (de novo) mutations that are associated with autism appear to come from a lineage of a family without a history of autism.  The article discusses past and present research that explores the inheritance and non-iheritance of genetic mutations associated with autism, and what we can learn from relatives of those diagnosed with ASD.

You can find the full article here.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/11/grandmas-and-autism/507446/?utm_source=eb