There are some interesting autism items in the news.

First, I really loved Modern Love's Somewhere Inside, A Path to Empathy from Friday's NYTs. It's honest, insightful, funny, and, most importantly, gives a positive perspective of an AS/neurotypical (NT) intimate relationship. So many books and articles I read talk address the many challenges with very little focus on the positive. In a marriage combination that leads to an estimated 80% divorce rate, maybe this makes sense. The primary hurdles tend to be in communication and emotional relating (theory of mind issues included), which are integral for partners as they navigate the unpredictability and turmoil of life together. Without good communication and relating, it's easy to see how AS/NT relationships break down. Yet, this article provides a happy example of a couple in which both partners are committed to change that leads to improvement in the quality of the relationship.

It's probably helpful that Finch's wife, Kristen, is a speech therapist who works with children who have autism, since this gives her background and understanding of Asperger's. But, I'm impressed with David Finch's dedication to fixing and strengthening his relationship through change. I found the line, "Positive changes — me talking reasonably about a problem — were rewarded with her newfound joy in being in my company, which is what I craved more than anything" so sweet. I like his Journal of Best Practices to write down helpful tips to remember. So often men with AS are portrayed as frustratingly incapable of understanding their contributions to problems in relationships, or even attempting change, and this gives a fresh, more positive, viewpoint.

The second is the Newsweek article Erasing Autism. Wow. There is some weird grammatical stuff in there, with random hyphen placements and things, but the content is good. Some of the comments, however, are not. I worry about many of the same things the article explores in terms of curing or eliminating autism altogether. The spectrumness (I'm making up words now) of this disorder is at the center of the complexity of this issue. On the severe, low-functioning end, of course a cure or the elimination of the disorder may seem like a godsend to parents and maybe even the people who have ASD. But, on the other end, I can see how this is an incredibly scary prospect. How many people with AS or high-functioning autism (HFA), like Ari, would want that aspect of themselves taken away? I don't know for sure, but my intuition says very few. As scientific research progresses, who will decide what's right? Argh.