Special Category of People

As of today, there are 7.53 billion different people on this planet. Even identical twins that have 99.99% of the same DNA have different fingerprints. we cover approximately 196.9 million square miles of land covering this Earth and from the outside looking in, seems to be nothing more than a rapidly reproducing virus infesting this planet. Of the many types of humans, about 1% of the population falls into a special category more commonly known as ”autistic”. There are many theories as to why autism exists, and even the exact definition is widely debated.

Just recently, the more specialized diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome was removed from the Diagnostic Service Manual and replaced with a more umbrella term of ”Autism Spectrum Disorder.” There are, however, distinct differences that come into play concerning engaging with individuals that are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I was married to a man that has what would be considered Asperger's Syndrome and I experienced first-hand what it was like to communicate with him and what became necessary to establish and maintain a healthy marriage.

Get quality help now

Writer Lyla

Verified writer

Proficient in: Autism

5 (876)

“ Have been using her for a while and please believe when I tell you, she never fail. Thanks Writer Lyla you are indeed awesome ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

I will be exploring different aspects of my relationship with my ex-husband as well as my son’s developing relationships with his peers. He too is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The theory I have chosen to analyze their communication through is that of Relational Dialectics.

Andrew impressed me right away with his intelligence. At first, I thought he was really rude. We had been having a conversation about a casual subject when in the middle of it, he completely changed the subject and started sharing random facts with me about the country of Lichenstein.

At first, I thought he was acting like a pompous jerk, but I slowly began to realize that he was just extraordinarily smart and a little socially awkward. I was just barely 18 years old and he was an Airmen in the Air Force stationed at the base in my hometown. I found his quirks endearing and in contrast to boys my age, his lack of social skills was much less of a turn-off than the qualities that he possessed within his character. We didn’t know at that point that he was autistic and it wasn’t until our son was diagnosed that we accepted that his father too is autistic.

Watching my son develop and observing his experience with the world has helped me better understand how to support people with this particular set of difficulties. If I could compare their life experience to anything, I would use the well-known Spock. Being in a relationship with Spock is very difficult and communicating with Spock is even more difficult.

Relational Dialectics is one of the different communication theories. It was originally introduced by Leslie Baxter and Barbera M.Matgomery in 1988. In summary, Relational Dialectics is the theory of contradictory needs within relationships and the importance of respecting the tension between those needs. These contradictions occur when two people who are different as we all are an attempt to maintain a relationship.

Currently, there are more than 3.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder.