Neurodiverse Relationships, Autistic and Neurotypical Partners Share Their Experiences – written by Joanna Pike with Tony Attwood
This book follows twelve couples discussing aspects of their relationships from their own personal perspective. Each couple talks candidly about a relational issue, covering such topics as anxiety, intimacy and socialising. Tony Attwood, who is described as an ‘autism expert’ then gives a commentary and a question and answer section for each of the twelve accounts.
I have to own that I was disappointed that each couple was heterosexual, with the male being on the autistic spectrum. It would have been interesting and more balanced to hear some accounts from couples where the female is autistic. At times I wasn’t sure about some of the language used, or the stance taken towards those who are autistic. However, it does give some insight into how the two differing perspectives, autistic and neurotypical (to use the books’ language) see certain aspects of their relationship. One of the things that does comes across is the lack of good relationship support for these couples; an opportunity for Marriage Care maybe?