Tag Archives: marital difficulties

Adults with Asperger’s: Boundary Problems

Because people who suffer from Asperger’s disorder have difficulty is reading other people’s body language and even understanding the more subtle aspects of normal human verbal communication, adults with the condition can experience an array of interpersonal problems. Mainly though, it is the people who interact with adult Asperger’s who have the problem, rather than the sufferer themselves. This is because they are often either not aware of the hurt and trouble they are causing, or more commonly, they will not listen to significant others who tell them that their behavior is inappropriate. Let’s look at the case of Alison. … Continue reading →

Asperger’s or not Asperger’s?

We’ve all heard of common mental conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders. We may also have knowledge of less mainstream disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder, borderline personality disorder and Tourette’s syndrome. Yet there are many other conditions that affect humans that do not fall into such clear- cut categories but which nevertheless are indicative of problems in the sufferer. We discussed one such case in the article on Munchausen’s by Proxy. Many more strange and puzzling afflictions affect the general population and today’s blog describes one of them. It involves the diagnosis of … Continue reading →

Coping with an adult with Asperger’s (4)

In the final blog in this present series on Asperger’s Disorder, we look at further behavioral markers as well as treatment options for this condition. Being partnered to an Asperger’s sufferer comes with its own set of marital difficulties. Of primary concern is the lack of intimacy and reciprocation of emotion. This is the most common reason for marriage breakdown associated with this disorder. As discussed previously in Coping with an adult Asperger (1), (2) and (3), this neurological disorder makes it extremely difficult for the sufferer to interact emotionally in an appropriate way with others. In a marriage situation, … Continue reading →

Coping with an adult with Asperger’s (3)

In this third blog on living with a person with Asperger’s, (see Coping with an adult with Asperger’s (1) and (2), we look at further behavioral patterns of the sufferer and ways families and friends can better deal with difficulties encountered in everyday interactions with individuals with the condition. Asperger’s Disorder makes for difficulties in understanding the emotions of others as well as interpreting subtle communication skills, as transmitted through eye contact, facial expressions, and body language. This often leads to the person with this disorder being labeled as rude, uncaring, cold, and unfeeling. While it is natural for those … Continue reading →

Too Much Emotional Baggage? Consider Unpacking

Do you remember the old question that they used to ask at the airport when you were checking in for your flight? Pre-9/11 the question was always; did you pack your own bags? Has anyone, but you handled your bags prior to arrival here? The correct answer to this question that they were looking for was yes; you packed your own bags. So let me ask you this, did you pack your emotional bags? Has anyone, but you handled your bags prior to getting to where you are right now in life? If you can’t answer yes to these questions, … Continue reading →

Coping with an adult with Asperger’s (2)

As we saw in Coping with an adult with Asperger’s (1), dealing with a person with this condition can be extremely difficult at times, particularly when the person has yet to be diagnosed with the disorder. When diagnosis of the adult Asperger occurs, it is often as a result of a child or grandchild being assessed with the disorder. It then becomes apparent to other family members that the undiagnosed adult they have struggled for so long to understand or relate to also possesses the disorder. When an adult is diagnosed with Asperger’s as a result of a child within … Continue reading →

Coping with an adult with Asperger’s (1)

As we discussed in What is Asperger’s Disorder and Adults with Asperger’s Disorder, this condition is a lifelong developmental disorder and mainly manifests in the inability to successfully relate emotionally to others during everyday interactions. There exists a lack of awareness in interpreting social cues; a skill that most of us take for granted. Given that inability, it can be extremely difficult for the family and friends of an Asperger to cope with many of the behavior patterns typically exhibited. As Asperger’s Disorder is a relatively recently classified disorder, (see Adults with Asperger’s Disorder), an adult’s diagnosis with the disorder … Continue reading →

Adults with Asperger’s Disorder

In What is Asperger’s Disorder? we looked at an overview of this condition which forms one of the autistic spectrum disorders, a developmental disorder that influences how the brain processes information, particularly in the area of social cues. Much of the available literature on Asperger’s deals with the diagnosis and treatment of children with the disorder. Similar material can often be difficult to find on adult sufferers. This is largely due to the fact that the DSM-IV criteria for the diagnosis of Asperger’s is of relatively recent origin. The disorder was only distinguished as a condition in its own right … Continue reading →

Dealing with Difficult In-Laws (4)

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Remember Elise with the mother-in-law who showed 15+ movies to her young grandchildren and thought it was okay to do so? Let’s have a look at how Elise and her partner, Carl, dealt with the situation. Just to recap, we had a situation where child minding for Elise and Carl came with an added twist. Carl’s mother, Helen, collected DVDs for the grandchildren, but she took no notice of the censor’s rating for each movie. On one overnight stay, Helen showed a movie that was rated for mature audiences to her four grandchildren, aged 11, nine, eight, and six. It … Continue reading →

Dealing with Difficult In-Laws (3)

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In Dealing with Difficult In-Laws (1) we met Claire, who had a three-week-old daughter, sleeping problems, breast feeding problems, and a highly intrusive mother. Claire was also showing signs of developing post-natal depression, including frequent bouts of anxiety, uncontrolled weeping, and difficulty coping with her new baby. But for Claire, her biggest problem was her mother. Claire’s mother, Julie, had always exercised a lot of control over Claire’s life. She had influenced many of Claire’s life choices, including the city she lived in, the college she had attended, and even the suburb she was currently living in. Now that the … Continue reading →