Asperger syndrome and partnership

Abstract

Background: Asperger Syndrome (AS) is a kind of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which is characterized by patterns of repetitive behavior, special interests and difficulties in social interaction. Especially due to the impairment in social interaction, partnerships with their special demands for social competence seems to be a challenge for individuals with AS. But data about working of such partnerships are rare. Therefore it was aim of this study to find out how these partnerships function and in which areas problems maybe occur. Subjects and methods: 12 adults with an AS (8 female, 4 male adults) and their partners (11 heterosexual partnerships, one female homosexual partnership, average age 40.4 years) were asked about their partnerships via the two questionnaires "Fragebogen zur Einschätzung von Partnerschaft und Familie" (EPF) and "Partnerschaftsfragebogen" (PFB). T-scores were computed and interpreted. Results: Highest T-Scores, indicating problematic areas, were found in the scales of affective communication, problem-solving communication and quarreling. Ratings of global happiness showed participants to be between >rather happy< and >happy<. There were no significant rating differences between individuals with AS and their partners. Conclusions: Problematic areas of partnerships in individuals with AS especially occur in the section of communication, not surprisingly, as it is one of their difficult fields. Nevertheless, at large it can be concluded that partnerships in individuals with AS seem to work.

The Potential Benefits of Dance Movement Therapy in Improving Couple Relations of Individuals Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder—A Review

“…Current research also explores the experience of typically developed (TD) individuals who are married to partners with ASD. Women married to partners with ASD describe their subjective experience of struggling and loneliness, which all-too-often lead to crises after marriage (Deguchi and Asakura, 2018 ), and the most problematic areas involve issues of affective communication, problem-solving communication, and quarreling (Roy and Dillo, 2017 ). Another complexity entailed in these relationships relates to the existence of social stigmas that partners may experience (Naoko et al, 2020 ).…”