At the end of the original blog post we have included a number of reader comments and stories which are well worth reading!
A few minutes ago I posted a question on our Facebook Page AutismTalk. In the question the gentleman mentioned that he was a single parent of a child with ASD.
Now this caught my eye because I remember being told that most parents of children with ASD split up after diagnosis. The figure given was 80%. But given the anecdotal evidence around me I am not sure if this is true at all.
While being the father of a child with autism has its moments so, I can assure you, is being the parent of a neurotypical child as well. Especially when they step into the teenage years. (Note to daughter – if I actually was running a hotel I would expect to be paid).
So I thought this would be a good opportunity to explore the whole area of how autism impacts upon relationships. For full disclosure my wife and I are together and participate jointly in bringing up our children.
In the first instance it would be great if you could share your marital status in the poll below. Now I know that this is pretty complex and amorphous so please choose the one you feel closest to. I’m not for example going to differentiate between gay and straight for example. You can choose more than one answer by the way. And the responses are private of course!
After that please feel free to use the comments box below to share a bit more about your story. If you have any tips for other readers that would be great!
I was married to the father of my 10 year old son we split up when my son was 5, as he never supported us & has never accepted our son’s diagnosis
I’m in a relationship now with my current partner who I am engaged too, who loves my son as his own, supports him & me & accepts my son’s Autism
I’m co-parenting with my new partner. My marriage to the father of my ASD son collapsed, in part because I didn’t feel supported in dealing with our son’s issues. I felt like a single parent long before I became one.
The result of your poll is very encouraging. As the parents of a almost 7 year old boy with autism,we found that accepting the diagnosis and focussing on early intervention was what assisted in maintaining. Of course there are heavy financial implications which also adds to strain in relationships,however I firmly believe non-acceptance contributes to the breakdown in relationship between parents/partners. Strongs to all the parents of special needs children, God bless you and your families.
The result of your poll is very encouraging. As the parents of a almost 7 year old boy with autism,we found that accepting the diagnosis and focussing on early intervention was what assisted in maintaining. Of course there are heavy financial implications which also adds to strain in relationships,however I firmly believe non-acceptance contributes to the breakdown in relationship between parents/partners. Strongs to all the parents of special needs children, God bless you and your families.
when I found out my son,now 6, was diagnosed with ads I was serving time in a federal penitentiary. His mom and I had split up prior to my encarceration and I was heavy into drugs and all that goes with it. I’ve now been out for 3 years almost off parole, clean, working, and living with my sons mom who I am happily maried to. I spend every possible second I have with my son and am deeply involved in all aspects of his development. He is a HUGE dads boy. What may negatively affect his whole life has been a blessing in mine. He is my little soldier, and I will fight right by his side for all my days to come!! I love you Kaelor Mattew Hoffman!!
After splitting with my ex and father to my asd son i was single for a few years but I have been dating and in a relationship for almost 3 years with a wonderful man who loves me and my son and he is wonderful with him and they have a very special bond.
My husband is a truck driver, at times it’s really hard my daughter is 2 now has autism and it feels like single at times because he’s not here to help me with her and my other two kids some times I just breakdown and cry
I am a single mom of 3 Autistic boys…..all have the same father ( people ask me all the time), I was married for almost 12 years and we were together almost 14 when he started being violent with me and the boys. I chose to move out, initially thinking we would co parent, but that faded quickly. I left on 12/11/10 and the last time he saw the boys was 3/4/11. The last telephone contact was 8/26/11. He blocked me on fb and moved to Florida. After being court ordered to pay child support and had paid for 3 months before he ran away to Florida. I am isolated and have no family who are willing to watch the boys, now 14, 11 & 8.
I am mother to 1 daughter on the autism spectrum and 1 neurotypical daughter. Although I am married and live with their father, I am unsure for how long this will continue to be the case as he doesn’t deal well with the situation, contributing to a breakdown in relationships.
My son’s father left b4 I knew my son had ASD and b4 my daughter was born… im in a relationship with another guy now and he’s been there since i was pregnant with my little girl and we now have a son together..
My relationship with children’s father ended as a combination of very difficult situations, my son has ASD and that was a contributing factor. Their father has weekly overnight contact which they all enjoy but that is as much as both the children and their father can handle.
I am in a long term relationship now but I find it easier for it to be ‘weekends and holidays’ only as for now my main concern is my kids
I Have complete genesis of the corpus callosum with #ASD tendencies, I am a mother to 2 neurotypical children & I separated from their dad “after” diagnosis.
I am the stepmother of 3 autistic children and my husband (their father) has Aspergers. I’m the primary caretaker and their parents split not so much over the childrens’ spectrum status but his and the challenges that posed to a relationship (which is not always easy for sure lol). I know this isn’t really the answer you’re looking for in the poll, but definitely another major faction of the ASD parenting group 😀