Partner of an autistic adult

Hi. Slightly scared of being here as I’ve always been someone who can find a solution to everything but getting to the point where I don’t know any more how to deal with my autistic partner’s daily challenges.  We are now at a situation where he 24/7 cannot cope with any aspect of everyday life & even the slightest thing can result in hours of physical & verbal aggression. We have virtually no time each week when he is not in a heightened state of anger, annoyance or frustration. We agreed 2 years ago that I would keep working and he could just be at home because work was a massive trigger for him, but for the last 12 months me working has been a further trigger for him.   I know that the physical aggression isn’t intentional but has got to the point over recent months that it has caused obvious physical injury & emotional pain.  His anger has become worse since he was refused PIP 3 years ago because he is more highly functional than he will give himself credit for.   Any support or insight appreciated as I’m getting to point where I genuinely don’t know what to do for the best. 

  • Sorry to clarify: he to find strategies to prevent himself causing harm. Easier said that done I know. But he must know that he needs to ? 

  • I’m so sorry to hear of your struggles. You clearly love him and have been trying to make it work. It sounds like a very complex and stressful situation and you must be feeling very low. DV is not acceptable, no matter what. Can you find some autism-specific  professional help/ psychotherapy - try hard to regulate himself- find strategies to prevent him causing harm when triggered. Is there any chance the decline could be caused by a health problem/ deficiency/ lack of vitD /b12/iron/ magnesium, or an intolerance: gluten/ dairy? My digestive system packed in through stress and dairy and gluten made me very angry ! Sounds strange but even if I eat it now, I get so ratty about two hours later - especially gluten. As you explore avenues of support for both yourself and your husband, I wish you the very best. Take care of of yourself, and find support please. 

  • and ofcourse getting angry over not getting pip also shows that the issue may be in him not being able to provide. he perhaps wants to provide and bring in money but cant figure out a way to do so. perhaps feels like dead weight, useless, but wants to be a provider and wants to be of use.

  • perhaps you working is a trigger for him because as a man he thinks that he should be the bread winner and he feels less manly for you working and him staying at home maybe?

    not sure how to solve that though if thats the case lol needs more thought beyond that.

  • If you're working all the time, and come home to an abusive person, that's not something you should have to put up with. I'm not sure what you mean by saying that "physical aggression is not intentional," because I'm sure that when someone who's supposed to loves you, is doing something that would otherwise be reserved for someone they hate, like hitting you, it's not usually a good sign. I mean a good exercise is to think of your situation from the perspective of a friend. If you heard your friend going through this, what would you think?  

    I mean I've had a 5 year gap of unemployment due to health issues, but I didn't attack my hard working partner over it, and I still paid half the rent from the money I saved up from the previous job. I had physical and mental health issues, and my partner was so angry at me that they were ready to leave me due to the financial and personal stress and worry, but I luckily found the cause, and the health issues went away, and I felt so much better, so I started working again. But I'm a mild mannered person who tries to find solutions. I'm not one to use physical aggression and then claim that it was unintentional. 

    Is there no type of work he can do from home? I mean, maybe like in writing blogs, journslism, transcription work, computer coding, artwork, adding subtitles, editing videos, voiceovers, like anything? Also there are a bunch of online courses on the computer to learn at least something, get certified, and then have better job prospects and skills added to his resume.

    You can only help someone so much. I mean you're already working and paying for everything. If he does not try to do something to improve himself, then maybe you should split up and live on your own, and he should just move back in with his parents. I mean from your end of things, you'll probably be more happier coming home to just relax in a quiet setting, rather than coming home knowing that you'll just get yelled at and abused. 

  • You need to break the cycle and get out. Physical manifestations of abuse are only going to get worse. The fact that you're subject to abuse after coming home from work should be the final say in the matter. Who knows, your absence might improve him, because he'll have to do things differently.

  • It's a difficult one to answer as it's a slightly vague read. Where is the anger coming from? 

    Sounds quite worrying for you. The physical injuries are they him or you? Alot of questions here......