Sex & Autism 11: Not tonight dear, I have a headache

No one argues that many autistics experience a variety of co-occurring neurological issues, and one of these may be an increased propensity for headaches.

A recent study focused on fraternal and identical twins where at least one had autism. Fun fact: autism is only about 80% inheritable. The other 20% comes from epigenetic factors.

If you or your partner experience what could be termed autistic headaches that stem from overstimulation, sex at the end of a long day might not happen as regularly as you might desire.

Time to take a more active planning role in your sex lives. Create a calendar for the week or month and sketch out repeating events such as work, school, grocery shopping, or game night. Examine your daily and weekly activities that often lead to headaches and include them on the calendar. Highlight or circle them in red.

Next, mark the times you and your partner can be together. Together time following headache inducting activities might not make for the best sexy time. Better to look for the spots on your calendar where the potential headache load is lower. Highlight them in green.

Get creative with your green highlighter! Sexy time doesn’t have to be at the end of the day when you’re both worn out. Consider morning sex after brushing your teeth or a quickie at lunch time.

Lights or sounds bother one of you? Close the blinds and put in ear plugs. You might not be able to control when you get a headache. You can have greater control scheduling when sex can be best. Keep in mind, just because you schedule time for sex does not mean that sex needs to be boring or repetitive. Let your actions be spontaneous!