Navigating Love and Autism

"Navigating Love and Autism." @Amy_Harmon. @NYTimes
GREENFIELD, Mass. — The first night they slept entwined on his futon, Jack Robison, 19, who had since childhood thought of himself as “not like the other humans,” regarded Kirsten Lindsmith with undisguised tenderness.

She was the only girl to have ever asked questions about his obsessive interests — chemistry, libertarian politics, the small drone aircraft he was building in his kitchen — as though she actually cared to hear his answer. To Jack, who has a form of autism called Asperger syndrome, her mind was uncannily like his. She was also, he thought, beautiful.
So far they had only cuddled; Jack, who had dropped out of high school but was acing organic chemistry in continuing education classes, had hopes for something more. Yet when she smiled at him the next morning, her lips seeking his, he turned away.

This is an excerpt from Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Amy Harmon's new e-book, Asperger Love published by the New York Times and Byliner. I

​t is currently available at the Kindle Store on Amazon, among other e-book stores along with Nook and Ipad. Amy was recently highlighted on Autism Speaks for her NY Times Article “Navigating Love and Autism”. Temple Grandin calls Amy’s book, "required reading for couples, parents, teachers and counselors,'' Harmon portrays the challenges and successes of one young couple, both on the spectrum, and their struggle to make a romantic relationship work.
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“I don’t really like kissing,” he said.