In 2005, we walked out of AI Dupont hospital for children with a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome for my then 5 year old son. While for some a new diagnosis is a shock and disappointment, for me it was a relief to be able to explain the constellation of behaviors we had witnessed in my son's short life. I hoped and expected the new found information to help me understand my son better, parent him better, and put him on a path to a better life experience.
It never occurred to me that learning about Autism would be an asset to me in many relationships in my life, including with my spouse. Researcher Simon Baron-Cohen went so far as to refer to autism as the "extreme male brain." While many have debated the theory from a theoretical standpoint, I can honestly tell you that learning about autism has helped me "get" how my husband is wired.
Here are some of the similarities:
- Need to be alone to recharge
- Difficulty with intuition
- Needing to do one thing at a time
- Extreme hyperfocus on areas of interest
- Challenge with organizing tasks of less interest.
This is just a beginning of the list, as this realization represents the beginning of this very complex journey.
