Silent Asperger's in the couple relationship
By Freddi Manson - Counselling for Individuals and Couples, listed counsellor/therapist
As a couples counsellor, I see certain patterns of problems and behaviours occur and reoccur in many couple relationships. This is when one of the partners has an undiagnosed Asperger's condition.
The common theme is for there to be a huge and persisting love for one another and a desire to be together - and yet certain parts of their relationship feel all wrong. There is plenty of room for misunderstanding and hurt in both directions.
"Mate crime" targets Asperger's syndrome
New research has found a shocking number of people suffering from Asperger’s syndrome and autism are being abused or manipulated by people they believe to be a friend.
This new form of victimisation has been nicknamed ‘mate crime’.
An autism charity conducted the survey, finding that ‘mate crime’ is a form of hate crimes targeting people with disabilities, in which a person is abused or manipulated by who they believe is a friend.
Everybody hurts : By Michael O'Rourke listed counsellor/therapist
If we know that someone is having a difficult time, then we treat them kindly, so let’s assume everyone is carrying their burden today. Their loss, fear, anxiety, rejection, or sorrow is hurting them more than usual now; taking a few moments to hear them, or at least not add to their difficulty, might very well help them through.
Recently, as a conference, a man whispered to his colleague during presentations. It irritated me that he wasn’t paying attention in the way I felt he should. Later in the day, I was talking to him and he told me he was tired because he was in a hotel the night before and he hadn’t slept well; that his young daughter has Down’s Syndrome, and he and his wife were often up during the night to help her to the loo, or to get her a drink. So here we have a loving dad, a tired worker away from his family overnight, and a man who was holding his love and pain together, and yet I only had compassion and empathy for him when I knew his difficulties.