AsPD and The Genetic Link

whatever

My son's doctor described the genetic effect for his ADHD as being composite. Neither me or his father have ADHD but our genes could both be 5, combined makes a 10 and 8 is needed for ADHD. That kind of makes sense and wondered if that analogy could be applied similar for other disorders such AsPD?

Demon wrote:It could just be a boy thing. Your son is quite young still. He will no doubt change in some ways as he grows older. Is he on any medication at all for his ADHD?
My daughter was on Ritalin for awhile, but I lost the prescription one day and she ran out of medication. I've kept her off it ever since because I noticed there wasn't a great deal of difference when she was on it to when she was off it.

He is on Concerta, previously on Ritalin. There is definitely a difference on vs off. It suppresses his hyperactivity quite a bit and
vastly increases his ability to concentrate. Its not all good though, it can make him more irritable and a bit zombie sometimes, it
obliterates his appetite also. We recently decreased the dose to let more of him out. I don't want him on it but the conventional school system seems unable to cope with the natural version of him. He has sometimes produced better work off than on but off is far less predictable.

I wouldn't be too concerned about labeling your son with anything at this stage because he is only young still and most
children do change as they get older. Though, with that said, I've been considering taking my daughter to a psychologist and getting her tested for conduct disorder. My daughter is a teenager and at a stage where her behaviour is becoming more of a concern, primarily due to the fact that she is still very defiant. Just as I don't think she'll
develop Antisocial Personality Disorder, I don't think her ODD has reached the conduct disorder stage either, but I'm not entirely sure that I should disregard the possibility altogether.

Don't get me wrong I'm not looking to label, merely trying to be observant. This post is the closest I've been to finding any
comparison for his behaviour so far. I agree that he is still too young for this sort of stuff but when he isn't I want to be prepared,
open and available to spotting any particular traits and having some idea of what do about it or even help prevent (if that is even
necessary).

It's possible my daughter could be mimicking the emotions of others (other kids at school, people in movies and tv shows etc. She's not likely to be mimicking mine though because the only emotion I exhibit fully is anger). I do find it unlikely though because her emotions do seem genuine and she does appear to show genuine empathy and compassion for others at times.

I think I read somewhere that kids, especially in the early years,learn mostly by imitating their parents. Something that I wonder/worry about is whether my son is mimicking some of my behaviour, such as impatience and anger and then getting a counter intuitive response later because our emotional responses (may) differ somewhat. Then in the school environment the response is different again and they have a lower tolerance to adverse behaviour (or anything that moves quickly it seems). I can understand that he would find all this very frustrating which may exacerbate the tendency to be angry and/or exhibit potentially violent actions. Only yesterday he was worked up about something to the point of actually saying that he wanted to 'bash' someone over something they did.

jessicaborthwick wrote:whatever

Are you crying right now?

crystal_richardson wrote:

jessicaborthwick wrote:whatever

Are you crying right now?

no i couldn't care less
go and get a life
what it your problem

Comingoutofmyshell wrote:My son's doctor described the genetic effect for his ADHD as being composite. Neither me or his father have ADHD but our genes could both be 5, combined makes a 10 and 8 is needed for ADHD. That kind of makes sense and wondered if that analogy could be applied similar for other disorders such AsPD?

My daughter doesn't have the hyperactivity that is associated with ADHD, but she has all of the ADD part. I'm aware there's a genetic component to it and I know I don't have ADD myself, but it's possible my daughter's father has it. And yes, there is a genetic component to AsPD as well, at least in regard to psychopathy anyway. Then again, apparently you can be a psychopath and antisocial, but not all antisocials are psychopaths. Though many people still use AsPD as an umbrella term for antisocial, sociopath and psychopath alike. One psych I went to, the one who diagnosed me, told me there is no difference between them and yet, another told me there is. So it all comes down to who you ask in the end I think, but either way, I strongly suspect that in regard to my AsPD there is a biological connection to my mother who also appears to have it. Like I've said before, I don't think my daughter will ever have Antisocial Personality Disorder because she's compassionate and empathetic. Then again, if some antisocials can feel empathy and compassion and yet, exhibit all of the other traits, she may still get diagnosed with it one day. Time will tell I guess.

He is on Concerta, previously on Ritalin. There is definitely a difference on vs off. It suppresses his hyperactivity quite a bit and vastly increases his ability to concentrate. Its not all good though, it can make him more irritable and a bit zombie sometimes, it obliterates his appetite also. We recently decreased the dose to let more of him out. I don't want him on it but the conventional school system seems unable to cope with the natural version of him. He has sometimes produced better work off than on but off is far less predictable.

Would you say your son is as defiant on medication as he is off it, or is it really only affecting the ADHD aspect of his personality?

Don't get me wrong I'm not looking to label, merely trying to be observant. This post is the closest I've been to finding any
comparison for his behaviour so far. I agree that he is still too young for this sort of stuff but when he isn't I want to be prepared, open and available to spotting any particular traits and having some idea of what do about it or even help prevent (if that is even necessary).

That's understandable.

I think I read somewhere that kids, especially in the early years,learn mostly by imitating their parents. Something that I wonder/worry about is whether my son is mimicking some of my behaviour, such as impatience and anger and then getting a counter intuitive response later because our emotional responses (may) differ somewhat. Then in the school environment the response is different again and they have a lower tolerance to adverse behaviour (or anything that moves quickly it seems). I can understand that he would find all this very frustrating which may exacerbate the tendency to be angry and/or exhibit potentially violent actions. Only yesterday he was worked up about something to the point of actually saying that he wanted to 'bash' someone over something they did.

Well, my daughter does tend to imitate my behaviour to some degree. I'm aware of that. She even swears to me at times. This morning she got angry over something I said to her and told me to "Just f*cking stop". Of course, that just exacerbated the situation and she ended up storming out of the room. She insisted that she didn't want to go to school and I insisted that she had to. Needless to say, she did go to school. She always listens to me in the end, but it's always a power struggle to get to that stage.

crystal_richardson wrote:The current view among experts is that psychopaths are basically born.

I know I harp on about this a bit. But just working from birth you are missing out on, perhaps, the most important period of brain development, from conception to birth, where the brain is incredibly vulnerable to the influence of external stimuli affecting the direction it's development takes.

a bit off topic
Do you think most ASPD people have had a good childhood or a bad childhood

jessicaborthwick wrote:Do you think most ASPD people have had a good childhood or a bad childhood

Survey says...

http://www.psychforums.com/antisocial-personality/topic62144.html

most people picked Neglect, verbal/emotional abuse, AsPD/NPD parent

jessicaborthwick wrote:a bit off topic
Do you think most ASPD people have had a good childhood or a bad childhood

I think every single one of us can probably look back on our childhood and if we really think about it, we can remember some form of trauma or other. I for one know I had to go to hospital for varied things at least 5 times between the ages of 3 and 6. The human brain is still forming it's connections right up to our 20s and there is some new evidence that brain development doesn't even stop there.

"Good or bad childhood"? I don't think we can really paint it so black or white, except for in the extremes. For the vast majority, we probably had an "OK" childhood, with ups and downs, but the little traumas (like the time I was 5 and my sister was 3 and i challenged her to a race to the top of a crane on a tow truck that was in the garage that my father owned, only to find, half way up, that the crane wasn't bolted to the truck) affect the way our brains develop. Try to think of it in not so black and white terms, but rather, numerous accumulative forks in the road.