Archive for the ‘Relationships’ Category

Tips for Women in Relationships with Partners on the Autism Spectrum

It is a challenge for most couples to find a balance between their needs and expectations and their partner’s needs and expectations. In a relationship where one individual is on the autism spectrum, there are likely many more opportunities for misunderstandings and frustration. Finding a path to...

Dating and Relationships: A Perennial Challenge for Many Autistics

This is one area about which, like so many on the autism spectrum, I can hardly be considered an expert. Nevertheless, because of its importance to so many in the autistic community, I feel the need to share what little I have learned on the basis of meeting and talking to others who have faced...

Navigating Neurodiverse Relationships: Disclosure and Self-Advocacy

If you are an adult who has had a longstanding diagnosis of ASD or a newly diagnosed individual, then you probably grapple with these ongoing decisions: If and when to disclose your diagnosis to others The pros versus the cons of disclosure How to go about sharing this information with...

How to Build a Satisfying Recreation Program for Adults with Disabilities

Andrew Auerbach, 63, has been going on weekend recreation trips with Chapel Haven Schleifer Center in New Haven, CT, since he arrived at the recreation program for adults with disabilities in 1977. Andy, who grew up on the Upper West Side of NYC, holds two part-time jobs during the week, so the...

Neurology Matters in Couples Therapy – and Training is Now Available

“Working with neurodiverse couples is more complicated than neurotypical couples. In order to help the couple work as a unified team, the therapist first has to help the partners understand each other’s neurological differences. The therapist has to understand each partner’s unique language...

A Spectrum of Love: When Romantic Love is Not Attained

Romantic love is a subject with which many in the autism community are preoccupied. They wonder if and how they will find love, and when they do, how they might navigate its occasionally tricky waters. Traditional, romantic relationships can often seem out of reach for a majority of people on the...

Autism and Dating: Practical Tips for Parents

Navigating the dating scene is not easy for anyone, whether or not they have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Dating is filled with many challenges to maneuver, resulting in awkward situations. These awkward situations happen to almost every young adult who dives into the dating scene. However,...

14 Practical Strategies for Marriage with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

The Asperger’s Association of New England (formerly known as the Asperger’s Association of New England) (AANE) has been offering the Partner/Spouse and Couples Support Groups for ten years. The couples we see typically consist of a man with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or Asperger Syndrome...

Three Ways You Can Help Your Child Date Smarter and Feel Less Frustrated

My former client beckoned me over to his table as I sat down for dinner with professor Stephen Shore, who had been a guest at my class. Before I could say, “great to see you,” my former client grabbed the hand of the young lady next to him, held it up high, and proudly showed off the engagement...

Friendship Among School-Aged Boys with ASD

Perhaps the area of challenge most commonly associated with an ASD diagnosis is difficulty with social interaction. Individuals with ASD often struggle to understand and respond to the perspectives of others, and demonstrate differences in their experience of pleasure from social relationships...