PREFACE

This book has been written as a guide to Asperger syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder) for anyone who has a partner with this condition, regardless of whether they are male, female, lesbian, gay or transgendered. The information used to compile this book has been drawn from three areas – my research into this specialised area, my work as a couples counsellor and my own personal experience, having lived with a partner who was given a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome.

This later second edition also draws from over a decade of experience of working with individuals, couples and families affected by Asperger syndrome. Since I wrote the first edition of this book, changes have been made to the most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition, APA 2013) and it has been decided by them no longer to use the term Asperger syndrome and to refer to individuals who come under this bracket as simply having an Autism Spectrum Disorder. This book maintains the use of the term Asperger syndrome to describe those at the higher-functioning end of this spectrum but it also acknowledges that those with Asperger syndrome fall under the broader term of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Whether your partner refers to themselves as having Asperger syndrome or an Autism Spectrum Disorder, the information in this book will be for you.