Autism Strains Marriages Apparently

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Found an article that the ICAA (International Coalition for Autism and All Abilities) posted on twitter. I'm not sure what I should make of it, even as a person with autism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/boomi ... tw-nytimes


The ICAA twitter claims the article is irresponsible reporting on the part of the New York Times. The couple featured basically say that they gave the child more attention than they did each other for intimate contact, so they considered a divorce. All I said was ".......Seriously?"


Please give your opinions, fellow auties and aspies.

Don't have children if you aren't prepared to give them what they need.

I completely and totally agree.

I have aspergers and 2 of my 3 daughters have been diagnosed with ASD.

Does it make life hard sometimes? YES. The issues that arise are not ones that my husband and I are intuitively designed to handle. So there is extra stress involved in learning to help them.

With that being said though, let it be known....I would much rather have my ASD kids over the NT brats I see in my neighborhood. NT does not equal stress free household. Something tells me those peoples marriage would end in divorce with or without a child on the spectrum. Sad to blame the child for your inability to cope with life.

I made a similar comment once a year or so ago and people seemed to get angry at me.

I think my comment was more:

"If you're not prepared for the possibility of having a disabled child, don't have a child."

ANY deviation from expectations of "normalcy" can strain a marriage.

What can't strain a marriage?

Staying single.

Really good answer.

Brilliant and true.

Too true, heres another way to look at it, if your loves condisional, marrage and children won't ever work.

I like that one.

This a subject best left alone by keyboard commandos- especially ones that have lots of trouble with relationship issues. This topic is complex even for professionals.

That's called "parenting". It would have happened even if the child were not autistic.

There. I fixed that for you. Anyone who expects "normal" is deluded. They're trying to live in their perfect little world. These people will wind up divorced no matter what, because they expect things of their partner that don't mesh with the reality that human beings are not perfect.

What’s William like now?
Jay: Every night he wets himself, sometimes two or three times a night. He’s 19 and man-size now. He also continues tantrums. Three years ago we had to call the local police because he got so angry and started throwing furniture around and broke the glass on the front door.
Nancy: Last night William unplugged all the wires to the Wii, VCR, stereo and DVD player that take hours to connect.
Jay: It’s unrelenting when he becomes manic and just keeps coming at you. “Do you want to play Wii?,” sticking the remote in your face. “Where’s the train? I want the train.”

Caregiving can be very difficult. Whoever would want to do it if you would get judged by those around you for showing human emotion of being burned out?