Anthere wrote:
Autism can go to being extremely asocial (such as not speaking, reacting violently to touch, refusing exchange with other individuals, having repetitive behavior... these autists are unlikely to have a job or a family) to having light troubles in interacting with others.
An autist is more likely not to have a love relationship with someone else. But even if he does, he can be someone who will not be very warm toward spouse, perhaps not appreciate physical touch a lot. I guess this can be a the same time an issue both in terms of verbal and non verbal communication.
I guess they are often qualified nerds because they deeply engaged themselves in activities which do not require to much human contact, or, at least activities where they can choose to be in contact or *not* in contact with others (single game playing, stamp gathering, gardening...). I think for most autists, the vibes sent by other humans have a huge impact and are very overbearing. They sort of flood their mental and prevent them from properly functionning. In front of this, an extreme solution is to build barriers, refuse contact entirely, to the point of not understanding the society. A less extreme relief solution is to give time to activities which can relieve them from the psychological pressure provided by other human beings. A sort of blank out relief. A routine activity helps forget the environmental noise.
I do not think that means they cant have a boyfriend/girlfriend, but it is likely they will get one not requiring too much interaction from them. I'd say the spouse should probably understand the need of the autist to have times of isolation and his requirement for a very regular life. Anything getting largely out of the routine seems to be very hard to handle for the autist.
ant
Thanks Anthere, couldn't have explained it better. I must emphasise however that not all of them suffer from the same symptoms, but need for occasional isolation is indeed very common. On the other hand, I personally feel the need of contact with other people as well, as I am a member of a student fraternity, for example. But... one remains strange anyway...:)
Wouter
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