Perspectives on Suffering

Abstract

Many interviewees have always known that they were different and have certainly had their share of misery due to misunderstandings and not fitting in. Some already had their suspicions that they might have autism; for others, the diagnosis came as a surprise. The respondents explain how living in modern-day society is hard for them and sometimes very demanding. They tell us how functioning in this set reality exhausts them, how demanding the pressure from society is and how lonely they sometimes feel. An important element of this chapter is that it illustrates our interviewees’ desire for human contact and communication.