I'm content with just my ASD kiddo. I think it would be unfair to have another child since my time is consumed for Travis only and what time I have left for myself. We have a great schedule and it works great he is happy that's all that matters

I agree with @A MyAutismTeam Member. Every child and family are different. My oldest was diagnosed with autism when my second son was 2 months old. I managed and sometimes it felt like I had twins for a long time. But I just included my younger son in therapies I was doing with my oldest, he loved the brushing, massages, ball pit, sensory toys and games.

When we came to a decision to have a third, we were up and down but ultimately we both said and felt that no matter wether this child has autism or not, as long as he is healthy , that is all that mattered to us.

My oldest with Autism is 4 years older than my youngest. He was already in school full days, had therapy afterschool at home after school and then we had some family time. As my youngest grew older it still felt like I had twins because my oldest was on his level.

Mitchell is 19 years old Cody is 17 and Sean is 14. I wouldn't have changed anything. We had tough times but we also have some of the most wonderful memories of brothers helping each other.

Enjoy the little moments of your child lives cause for one it may just be another step but for the other it is a huge obstacle they overcame. Either way Children thrive on encouragement and praise.

That is my story. Just be happy with the story you choose to write and there will be no regrets.

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A MyAutis...

Our oldest ASD daughter was born 1 and half years before her non-ASD brother and we didn't know she on the spectrum until she was 3 so we didn't purposely have a second kid knowing about autism in the family. I'm glad he was born and he's already advanced beyond his sister.

Think about why you want another kid and birth spacing. Parents only have so much time and energy to deal with kids and there's a diminishing return when you get beyond two kids. You can have more you put effort into each additional kid. This isn't like the old days or living in poor country when parents expected that some of their kids would die before reaching adulthood so they covered their bets with more kids. I have no idea how old you are as a couple but before 35 for women and before 50 (that's what they used to say for avoid schizophrenia in a child) is the upper limit. My parents were older but there's a higher risk. The WHO (not the rock group but UN) recommends a 3 year spacing between births. We didn't follow that advice but my wife and I were on the old side as parents so we didn't have time.

My point is think it through as a practical matter and try not to get hung up on a full house. Both of our kids are in daycare which was big drain on our finances. Our daughter's therapies took more time, money and sleep problems/ADHD thrown in so that it felt we had third kid called Autism. It's only just started and my daughter may be living with us for the rest of our lives so adding another kid with or without autism would have been a hassle.

Personally, it didn't get easier until the potty training started to work at ages 5 and 3 respectively.

I have two but they are a year apart. We did not know our son had autism by the time his sister came along. The second ended out being worse than the first. I will say it gets easier to a point but it never really gets easy if you have a nonverbal severely autistic child. We tell everyone taking care of our Nine year old daughter is like forever having a toddler potty training included.

My son who is HFA has gotten easier with a lot of things but then new issues come up as they get older. We decided not to have another, we have all we can handle.

It will get easier for all of you as you fall into routines. You have to take it one day at a time bc being an autism parent is emotionally draining. We have two kids a 4.5 yo girl with ASD and a 22 mo old boy who is NT. We decided to have two bc we wanted her to have a sibling who could help her if need be and had thought about the odds that rhp described above. I ate super healthy both pregnancies. For second child was on bedrest last 4 months and opted out of flu shot bc by time I could get it pregnancy wise, we were out of flu season and opted out of dtap while pregnant bc I didn't feel comfortable with it. (Side note: I'm good with vaccines but wasnt sure about the baby getting those goods in utero bc I have a wonky immune system. It's a personal decision and I don't recommend one way or the other). And go figure our scone was a boy and no ASD tendencies yet that we can tell. Provides an interesting contrast to his sister.

Long story short I think it's hard to predict and it's a personal decision. Sometimes it's so fun having two. Other times, the little one is so active and demanding that I don't feel like I have the time I want/need to spend on my daughter.