Based on academic research, experiences as a counselor specializing in this area and personal relationship experiences, the author uses quotations and real-life examples to illustrate her points with a compassionate understanding. Practical everyday topics include living and coping with AS, anger and AS, getting the message across, sex and AS, parenting, staying together, and "AS cannot be blamed for everything."
Maxine has explored the relationships of adults with Asperger syndrome as a Relate counsellor, from her own experience and through academic research. She makes extensive use of case studies and her insight is acute. Her positive attitude and strategies for successful relationships make this an essential book for couples and counsellors. Maxine has explored the relationships of adults with Asperger syndrome as a Relate counsellor, from her own personal experience and as part of her academic research. She makes extensive use of case studies and her insight is extraordinary. Her positive attitude and strategies for successful relationships make this an essential book for couples and counsellors.
If you’re in a relationship with someone who has Asperger’s syndrome, it’s likely that your partner sometimes seems cold and insensitive. Other times, he or she may have emotional outbursts for no apparent reason. And in those moments when you can’t understand each other at all, you both feel fed up, frustrated, and confused. The behavior of people with Asperger’s can be hard to understand and easy to misinterpret, which is why it’s so important to learn more about your partner’s condition. The tools presented in Loving Someone with Asperger’s Syndrome will help you build intimacy and improve the way you and your partner communicate. Filled with assessments and exercises for both you and your partner, this book will help you forge a deeper, more fulfilling relationship. This book will teach you how to: • Understand the effect of Asperger’s syndrome on your partner • Practice effective communication skills • Constructively work through frustrations and fights • Establish relationship ground rules to help you fulfill each others’ needs
Asperger syndrome (AS) has often been considered to be incompatible with love and relationships, but as the number of people who are diagnosed with the disorder increases, it is becoming apparent that people with AS can and do have full and intimate relationships. Comparing and contrasting both AS and non-AS partners' viewpoints, this book frankly examines the fundamental aspects of relationships that are often complicated by the disorder. With all findings illustrated with case examples taken from interviews conducted with couples, the author tackles issues such as attraction, trust, communication, sex and intimacy, and parenting. Drawing on her extensive research and established career as a Relate counsellor, Maxine Aston has produced a much-needed analysis of intimate relationships where one adult has AS and this book is a must for all those with AS and their partners, as well as for friends, family and counsellors.
Offering practical advice straight from the couples counseling room, Eva A. Mendes provides an insider's view into what couples and counselors can do to help make an ASD relationship last. She outlines the challenges faced in an ASD relationship and provides strategies that can improve the lives and marriages of couples on a daily basis.
Delve into the dramatic impact Asperger Syndrome can have on the complex world of adult interpersonal relationships. Psychologist Kathy Marshack shares poignant true stories based on her own life and the lives of her clients, focusing on how partners/spouses of someone with AS can take back their own life and find true meaning and happiness. The author discusses these sensitive issues and shows readers how to take control of their lives and grow away from dysfunctional behavior and dysfunctional relationships. Each chapter closes with a series of "Lessons Learned" that recap the main points of the chapter and offer new ways to look at these very unique challenges.
As a popular advice columnist in the UK, Barbara Jacobs never suspected she'd be the one needing the relationship advice. But when she fell in love with Danny, a man with Asperger's Syndrome, she quickly learned to expect the unexpected. In this book, Barbara candidly delves into the dynamics of their relationship. She lovingly compares Danny to Mr. Spock, a character who thrives on logic rather than emotion, while admitting that she was quite opposite. Join Barbara and Danny on their tumultuous journey in love, and learn about Asperger's along the way through figures, diagnostic guidelines, quotes and surveys by other couples, and more. If you love someone with Asperger's, or have Asperger's yourself, you can learn a lot from this book. Note: This book addresses some mature topics. Helpful chapters include: The Handsome Stranger Syndrome First Steps in a Parallel Universe Other-wired Bringing Up Baby A Working Model Breakthrough Nuts and Bolts
This short book, a collection of essays and poems, looks at the loneliness, frustration and sadness experienced, not by the person with the syndrome, but by their partners, parents and other family members: it is they who have to cope with the absence of communication, affection and empathy expected from a reciprocal loving relationship.' - Irish Journal of Medical Science The difficulties faced by people with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) cannot be underestimated, but the emotional problems experienced by those who support them - partners, family and friends - are often over-looked. Focusing on what is referred to as the Cassandra phenomenon, where the neurotypical partner often needs more emotional guidance than the AS partner, this volume gathers together letters, thoughts and poems to give voice to the loneliness, frustration and love felt by many individuals who are close to one or more people with AS. Assembled by FAAAS Inc. (Families of Adults Afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome), a well-known support group specifically for family members, friends and loved ones of people with AS, this collection will provide the emotional support, insight and understanding needed to deal with the emotions that AS evokes within close relationships.
Adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) often have difficulties acquiring relationship skills due to the defining characteristics of the syndrome, experiences with peers during childhood and adolescence, and the expectations of their partners. However, an increasing number do go on to achieve happy and successful long-term relationships with non-spectrum (NS) partners. This supportive book will give NS partners a better understanding of NS/AS relationships, and of what other NS partners have found to be helpful in terms of better understanding themselves and their partners, and enriching their relationships. Drawing on interviews with over 100 people in NS/AS relationships, as well as on their own experiences of having family members on the autism spectrum, the authors explore the key differences which may impact upon AS/NS relationships, such as communication, social skills, and sensory issues, and offer tried-and-tested advice on how to surmount difficulties and make things work. The book includes chapters on coping with stress and meltdowns, parenting, positive AS qualities and how to use them to their full advantage in a relationship, as well as advice on how the NS partner can ensure that their own needs are met. This book will provide support and encouragement to those in a relationship with someone who has been diagnosed with AS, or who is suspected of having AS, and will also be a useful resource for counsellors and other professionals who wish to deepen their understanding of AS/NS relationships.
Positive, practical and realistic, this book offers a wealth of information on women, dating and relationships for men with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Many AS men are totally confused and bewildered by women and relationships and find it hard to know what to do, what to say and how to get it right. For these men, understanding the emotional side to relationships and women's needs can be a complete mystery and they often get it disastrously wrong. This practical handbook provides the answers to Asperger men's most frequently asked questions about women, dating and relationships, helping them to understand the way relationships work and increasing their confidence and ability to have successful relationships. This comprehensive handbook is essential reading for men with Asperger Syndrome (and their partners). It will also be of immeasurable use to counsellors and other professionals working with such individuals.
