Member-only story
Do You Know Someone on the Spectrum?
What makes them special?
Keeley’s stepdad has Aspergers, a form of autism. I always knew he was different — that’s what attracted me to him in the first place. He was great fun to go out with. I never embarrassed him and we always had a good time. He was the life of every party. But living with him 24/7 was exhausting!
He wasn’t diagnosed until we had been together for 7 years and it was a counsellor who suggested he be tested. I went with him and he did the full range of tests. He ticked ALL the boxes for Aspergers. Everyone (even me with an NT brain) ticks a couple of boxes, but the test left no doubt.
Autism is more difficult to pick in an older person — my partner was almost 60 when he was diagnosed — because they have learned social skills and coping strategies throughout their life. He has always worked in areas that didn’t need interaction with a boss or workmates every day. A medical photographer specialising in eyes, he had his own darkroom to develop slides, he was very good at this job and loved it.
With the introduction of digital photography into the medical field, developing photos in a darkroom became obsolete and he moved into the field of mineral analysis and lab technician for a large multinational oil company. He had his own airconditioned lab onsite and was happy as a…
