This can cause problems later on. Willey says that when it comes to dating, women on the spectrum tend to be targets of physical and mental abusers. "We are the women with date rape stories," she says. Myers agrees that women with autism "have a big target on us for guys who are users, because we won't pick up on it and somehow they know that."

Even with kind partners, they can have trouble communicating their needs in relationships, and figuring out if their feelings are reciprocated. Myers thinks dating might actually have been easier for women on the spectrum "when it was regimented," when social conventions like dance cards and courting determined how people acted. Now that coupling up is more "free form," women with autism have a hard time.