It's not Hollywood, It's Real Life - Coping With the Challenges of Parenting with an Asperger Partner

VANCOUVER, WA, November 20, 2010 (Press-News.org) Asperger Syndrome is a hot topic. Why? It's estimated that as many as 1.5 million Americans have some form of autism, including milder variants, and the number is rising. Even Hollywood is showing an interest in Asperger Syndrome (AS). In 2009, the movie "Adam" highlighted the difficulties of falling in love with someone who has Asperger Syndrome and currently NBC's "Parenthood" has a character with Asperger Syndrome.

Kathy Marshack, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and marriage and family therapist, specializes in working with Asperger Syndrome relationships. Dr. Marshack's upcoming book, "Parenting with a Spouse or Partner with Asperger Syndrome: Out of Sight, Out of Mind", discusses unique issues that come up when you're co-parenting with an "Aspie" partner.

This new book is a follow-up to her previous book, "Life with a Partner or Spouse with Asperger Syndrome: Going over the Edge? Practical Steps to Saving You and Your Relationship" (Autism Asperger Publishing Company, March 2009), that focused on how partners/spouses of someone with AS can cope with these extremely challenging relationships and find happiness. After the success of "Going over the Edge?" many were left wondering, what's next? How can someone co-parent with an Aspie partner? What about the children of an Asperger parent? How can a child thrive when his or her parent has so little empathy?

Dr. Marshack's upcoming book, "Parenting with a Spouse or Partner with Asperger Syndrome: Out of Sight, Out of Mind", discusses these unique issues that come up when you're co-parenting with an Aspie partner. Dr. Marshack notes that when you live with Aspies it's the ordinary things of life that cease to function properly - like getting enough sleep, or asking your spouse to pick up a child from soccer practice. When co-parenting with an Aspie these ordinary things become strained and turn into not-so-ordinary moments leaving the Neuro-typical (NT) partner feeling drained, unnerved, and tense. In fact many NT spouses/partners report a variety of psycho-somatic and immunodeficiency illnesses such as migraines, arthritis, gastric reflux and fibromyalgia.

"Out of Sight, Out of Mind" will continue where "Going Over the Edge" left off with true stories from "Aspie" families and their not-so-ordinary moments. Each chapter closes with a series of "Lessons Learned" that recap the salient points of the chapter and offer new ways to look at the situations presented, as well as tips on how to handle similar situations in one's own life.

A free sample chapter of "Parenting with a Spouse or Partner with Asperger Syndrome: Out of Sight, Out of Mind" is available for immediate download at http://www.kmarshack.com.

Kathy J. Marshack, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist with a private practice in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR. She has more than 30 years of experience as a marriage and family therapist and business coach. Dr. Marshack has written two previous books, a variety of articles and a family business column, and is a contributor to the nationally acclaimed "Sixty Things to Do When You Turn Sixty" book. To learn more visit http://www.kmarshack.com or contact Kathy J. Marshack, Ph.D.
at 360-256-0448 or 503-222-6678.