Retirement and Empty Nesting on the Spectrum, Part 1

Springbrook's Converge Autism Radio

A lot more people are realizing well into their 50s, 60s, and even older that they are on the Autism spectrum. Today Dr. Stephanie and Dan interview 2 retired couples and speak to their new stage in life as empty nesters.
We have four guests with us. Carol and Greg are newly retired. You may recognize Greg’s voice, who has been on several of our Just the Guys segments. Greg is 63 and retired after a 35-year career as a consulting geologist. Married to Carol, he was diagnosed around age 55. Carol and he have three children. Carol is in her fourth year of retirement after a 32-year career as a speech-language pathologist.
We also have Marian and Tom, who have been retired for a few more years, and have some advice for preparing intentionally for retirement (most think only financially) but on how to do retirement relationally and not just individual goals. Marian has a Bachelor’s in Nursing and a Master’s in Special Education. The mother of two wonderful sons and a wonderful daughter-in-law. Tom retired from a successful dental career 2 ½ years ago at age 67 and was identified on the spectrum between the ages of 55-60.
Research links mentioned:
https://www.opastpublishers.com/open-access-articles/neuro-diverse-christian-couples-autism-religion-marriage-an-exploratory-qualitative-study.pdf
https://juniperpublishers.com/gjidd/pdf/GJIDD.MS.ID.555829.pdf