They sometimes don't pick up on “how” something was said, only on “what” was said. People with Asperger's may also lack empathy, the ability to understand the feelings of others. They may unwittingly say or do inappropriate things that offend or hurt others' feelings.
The partner with Aspergers can behave intrusively. The partner with Aspergers may “shut-down” if they don't know what to say or how to behave. They may disengage with partner or family indefinitely. The partner with Aspergers may have great difficulty cooperating with others or working as part of a team or unit.
NT spouses can often experience their own mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, affective deprivation disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as a result of being in a relationship with an undiagnosed and untreated partner with AS for an extended period of time.
Adults with Asperger's syndrome often have difficulties with initiating, maintaining and ending a conversation, and show a lack of reciprocity or conversational balance and a tendency to be pedantic with excessive and tedious detail (Attwood 2006).
People with Asperger's also have strengths that make them wonderful partners. They tend to be honest, loyal, humorous, and champions of the underdog. Autistic people don't often get caught up in social constructs, so they can see right to the heart of what matters.
Despite the problems in relationship skills experienced by many people with Asperger's syndrome, some adults can progress along the relationship continuum and are able to experience romantic and subsequently intimate personal relationships, even becoming a lifelong partner.
In the past, it was believed that a diagnosis of Asperger's or autism was incompatible with love and relationships. But love is an emotion that can be fully experienced by nearly anyone, despite differences in perception, social interaction patterns, or emotional expression.
Asperger's in adults typically causes issues with communication, emotion regulation and interpretation, social interactions, and behavior. People who have Asperger's may also experience other conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or OCD.
Research reveals that the divorce rate for people with Aspergers is around 80%.
One telltale sign of Asperger's syndrome is having difficulty in social situations. Common symptoms of Asperger's that may impact social interaction or communication include: Problems making or maintaining friendships. Isolation or minimal interaction in social situations.
The cause of Asperger syndrome, like most ASDs, is not fully understood, but there is a strong genetic basis, which means it does tend to run in families. Multiple environmental factors are also thought to play an important role in the development of all ASDs.
Many people with autism crave intimacy and love. But, they don't know how to achieve it in a romantic relationship. They can feel blind to everyday subtle social cues from their partner. This can cause conflict and hurt feelings.
They may show love, for example, through a practical act, and tidy up for you, or iron your shirt, rather than through a more neurotypical way of looking at you and telling you or using physical affection.
Difficulty regulating emotions and anxiety, such as, being quick to anger, easily offended and upset, displaying tantrums and sulking. brooding and holding grudges over small incidents, often for extended periods.
One trait that people may often attribute to autistic people is honesty. People can sometimes view honesty in autistic people as extreme, in which they might perceive an autistic person as brutally honest with their thoughts and opinions. However, many people might also appreciate this degree of honesty.
The Asperger's mind enjoys and focuses on details, while the normal mind is more skilled at assembling whole concepts from details. Some people with Asperger's are visual thinkers and others are math, music, or number thinkers, but all think in specifics.
The partner with ASD might have difficulties in picking up facial cues, vocal intonations, and body language. They can often monopolize, or have difficulty initiating conversations, and keeping them flowing. Their NS partner might feel frustrated by the lack of communication and reciprocity.
What is the Silent Treatment? Silent treatment is when a person is not willing to communicate with the other person verbally. People, who make use of it, tend to ignore the presence of the other person. Autistic individuals may use this often to manipulate others, but also due to multiple other reasons.
Hearing, speech, or language tests. An IQ and/or personality test. An electroencephalography (EEG), a test that looks at electrical activity in the brain. A brain scan, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)