Autism and Pregnancy Planning

My wife has a brother who is mildly autistic and two other sisters who are not. One of her sisters had a non-autistic daughter while the other had a autistic son. We have been married for almost two years and are now planning on having a baby. What suggestions do you have for us as we plan for having a baby? Is there anything we can do to determine the likelihood of having an autistic baby or reduce the probability?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

No, there really is nothing you can do to influence the outcome. But it would make sense to seek some genetic counseling so that, as you go forward, you are doing so with complete information.