I wS given 22 Things a Woman Should Know If She Loves a Man with Asperger's more than ten years ago when I first began dating my now-husband. I read it at the time and had an immediate, visceral reaction—I actually had a panic attack because so many of the behaviors described reminded me of abusive relationship patterns I had experienced and recognized elsewhere.
I ignored that gut reaction.
I told myself that because the book framed these behaviors as understandable, logical manifestations of a particular neurotype, they therefore couldn't be abusive. Or that somehow, I should manage to take on the burden and cope with these behaviors that dredge into abusive territory. I now deeply regret dismissing that instinct.
I recently reread this book while my marriage is struggling and I am trying to understand what is healthiest for myself and my eight-year-old son. Reading it now, with more life experience and a much better understanding of neurodivergence, I was struck by how heavily the book places the mental and emotional burden of the relationship on the woman.
Again and again, the message is essentially that she needs to adjust. Lower your expectations. Change how you communicate. Don't take his withdrawal personally. Don't expect verbal reassurance. Learn to live with the lack of reciprocity. Look at the positive side. Understand that he may lie to avoid conflict. Accept that he may withdraw emotionally. Learn to "deal with" behaviors that would otherwise be recognized as deeply unhealthy in any other relationship regardless of neurotypes.
The problem isn't explaining why these behaviors might occur. That can be incredibly valuable.
Understanding sensory overload, communication differences, difficulty identifying emotions, or other aspects of autism can help partners develop compassion and find accommodations that work for both people.
The problem is when explanation becomes exemption from accountability.
A diagnosis can explain why someone struggles to communicate. It does not mean their partner's need for communication disappears.
It can explain emotional withdrawal. It does not mean the other person's need for emotional connection becomes unreasonable.
It can explain why conflict is difficult. It does not make lying to avoid conflict healthy.
It can explain why someone struggles to recognize another person's needs. It does not mean those needs should simply be abandoned.
What troubled me most upon rereading the book is how often the woman's needs are characterized as "neurotypical expectations" that she needs to minimize or relinquish. The result is a relationship model in which one partner is expected to continually adapt, accommodate, understand, forgive, and absorb—and the other partner is given relatively little responsibility to grow, compromise, or reciprocate.
The overarching message of "dealing with it" can turn the woman into the primary emotional shock absorber of the relationship.
I know many autistic people at this point in my life, and I don't believe that emotional neglect, manipulation, dishonesty, or a lack of reciprocity should be considered inevitable features of autism. Autistic people are individuals, just as neurotypical people are. They can learn, develop relationship skills, take responsibility for their behavior, respect boundaries, and participate in reciprocal relationships.
Most importantly, neurodivergence does not make someone incapable of accountability, and it should never be used as a reason for a partner to tolerate abuse.
I wish this book had made that distinction explicit.
I believe it should be reissued with a very clear discussion of healthy boundaries, mutual responsibility, coercive and emotionally abusive behavior, and how to distinguish a neurological difference from behavior that is harmful or abusive. Partners should be encouraged to ask not only, "Why does he behave this way?" but also, "How does this relationship affect me, and is there mutual effort to make it healthier?"
Understanding someone is not the same thing as excusing them. It also does not mean you should choose to stay simply because they can’t help themselves.
Compassion does not require self-abandonment.
And loving someone who is neurodivergent should never require a woman to erase her own needs in order to make the relationship work.
I wish I had understood that when I first read this book ten years ago. My panic wasn't something I needed to explain away. It was information.