Chapter 2 42 suddenly and unexpectedly take a turn, he has no problem with adapting to the new situation. Transitions in daily life situations also bear few problems for Theo. Theo has several hobbies, but he is not excessively absorbed in any of them. Despite his seemingly emotional insensitivity, Theo is not over- or under-sensitive to pain, light, sound or other sensory stimuli. With regard to the characteristics of criterion A of ASD, the psychiatrist concludes it is not correct to speak of ‘deficiencies’. Yes, Theo’s limited attention to ‘emotional matters’ sometimes irritates the person with whom he is conversing. They also may find it annoying that he does not ‘empathize’ with them or the situation. However, Theo has become used to providing an ‘appropriate response’, even if, in reality, he feels little emotional reaction. He does, however, physically react to emotional events. For example, he adjusts his manner of speaking depending on the person he is speaking with and/or the situation. Theo uses a different tone of voice with his supervisor than he does with his 8-year-old nephew. Apart from a limited vocabulary for emotions, there is very little that is striking about his use of language. He makes normal eye contact and can initiate and maintain a conversation in a fairly natural way. He has no problemwith imagery and can easily distinguish between fantasy and reality in others’ stories. Theo had carefully considered and prepared his plan to commit suicide. He said it had nothing to do with feelings of sadness or anger towards his ex-girlfriend. He interpreted her decision as a ‘fact’. It had occurred to him that he did not feel like putting a lot of energy into a new relationship at the age of thirty-seven. Maintaining relationships were not his talent anyway. Theo doesn’t mind that he survived his attempted suicide but does not regret his attempt either. What worries him most is that he does not know the real reason his girlfriend left him. He had not seen it coming at all. Her statement that she left him because he never spoke to her about what he felt was clearly an ‘excuse’. He spoke to her every day, including about what he was feeling! While Theo unfolds his story, he tightens the muscles in his arms, clenches his fists and his face turns red. His raises his voice from talking to shouting. When the psychotherapist asks what Theo feels while he is telling this, Theo looks at him with incomprehension, saying: “What do you mean? Are you kidding? Or are you just like all the rest of these emotion-loving hippies?”
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