Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
My name is John Gaffen, I don't have Autism, but I very strongly suspect that someone I know very well, has undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome. This person was married to my sister, who sadly passed away back in April of this year. He has all the classic characteristics of this syndrome and has even mentioned to me directly that he has no real friends. I have known this person for many years and it has been extremely difficult sometimes to get along with my brother-in-law. This person is now in his 70's, he has a very high IQ, but his social interactions can be very awkward and one sided. He gets very focused on very narrow areas of interest and or conversations and finds it difficult to empathize with other people at times. He uses his considerable intelligence to try and navigate around some of these issues, but not always successfully.
My question is 1). Should I tell him what I think, that he probably has Aspergers, 2). If so, how should I approach or I go about doing this 3). What other advice should I offer to him if I go ahead and tell him?
This is a difficult one, as I am worried about doing more harm than good.
I would say no. Not unless he broaches the topic first.