I have been married for almost 30 years. We have been seeing a trauma therapist because we both have childhood trauma. The therapist mentioned to me she thought he might be on the spectrum. I had no idea. We do have a daughter with autism. My husband disagrees and refuses to discuss he could have autism. Our relationship has been very unhappy and unhealthy for me to the point it has physically and mentally made me sick.
Hi Jennifer. Your story is so similar to hundreds of thousands of partners. I encourage you to focus on the concept of neurodiversity versus "autism." Many adults have a harshly negative reaction to the idea of being "autistic," because they don't fit into the description of their own definition of what "autism" actually is. The concept of neurodivergence, and being "mixed neurotypes," recognizes that we're all different with different brain types - and that some people have more "typical" brains whereas others have less typical brains. Similar to personality differences, and even differences in intelligence, the way our brains process language, emotion, and social relational interactions is different for everyone!
I have been married for almost 30 years. We have been seeing a trauma therapist because we both have childhood trauma. The therapist mentioned to me she thought he might be on the spectrum. I had no idea. We do have a daughter with autism. My husband disagrees and refuses to discuss he could have autism. Our relationship has been very unhappy and unhealthy for me to the point it has physically and mentally made me sick.
Hi Jennifer. Your story is so similar to hundreds of thousands of partners. I encourage you to focus on the concept of neurodiversity versus "autism." Many adults have a harshly negative reaction to the idea of being "autistic," because they don't fit into the description of their own definition of what "autism" actually is. The concept of neurodivergence, and being "mixed neurotypes," recognizes that we're all different with different brain types - and that some people have more "typical" brains whereas others have less typical brains. Similar to personality differences, and even differences in intelligence, the way our brains process language, emotion, and social relational interactions is different for everyone!
I learn a lot from listening to your interviews!!
Thank you so much for posting these podcasts 🌷
Great Interview! Helpful as well!
This was very helpful! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!