Life with Asperger's Syndrome

Most of you don't know this about my husband, but he has Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum. He struggles sometimes with how to behave in social situations, and his mind works a bit differently than yours or mine might. He's not good with change, and he gets obsessive about things. (Side Note: I believe A's dad, brother, and sister are all on the spectrum, too.)

I have to admit that the obsessiveness is what is hardest for me to deal with. When he finds interest in something, he goes into full force and thinks of nothing else. For example, when he decided he liked golf and wanted to take it up, he bought probably 30 golf books, subscribed to 2 or 3 magazines, watched the Golf Channel constantly, and learned how to build his own clubs (and did so). This is all well and good, but for months, all he could talk about or think about was golf. Sometimes he'd talk to me about golf while the Golf Channel was on and he was reading a golf book/magazine. (FYI: I hate golf!)

His newest love is cooking... Specifically, the show Good Eats and the host, Alton Brown's, books. We got DVR a few months ago, and he found the show, started watching it, and true to his nature, got hooked. Like I've told him before, I don't mind watching a show in small doses, but I can't take hours on end of it, which is what he would do if I "allowed" it.

So now, he obsesses about rubs for steaks, finding the perfect knife, and, my personal favorite, seasoning a cast iron skillet. I'm sure it'll be something new in a few months when he abandons his love for cooking for his love of something new.. but at least at the moment his obsession is something that is productive for the whole family in that he's taken an interest in cooking dinner most nights!