Is your man distant, cold and insensitive?

 He could secretly be AUTISTIC. Two wives open up about their husbands' diagnoses

• Samantha and Andy Puleston from Devon discovered he had Asperger's
• Joanna and Nick Lewis from Coventry found Nick had Asperger's
• Nick Lewis was diagnosed after his son was found to have the condition

Andy and Samantha Puleston pictured at their home in Devon

Samantha Puleston always felt her husband Andy lived in his own world. Even during the most emotionally charged moments of their relationship, he could appear oddly detached and preoccupied with irrelevant practical details.

'Our daughter Sophie is 18 weeks old, and I had an extremely difficult labour which resulted in an emergency Caesarean,' says Samantha, 41. 'I was terrified, but Andy seemed unaffected by the danger. He was calm and even cracking jokes, which made me angry. But I know he wasn't being like that on purpose - it's simply how he is.'

To many women, Samantha's frustration at her husband's insensitivity will sound all too familiar. Yet the traits she finds most frustrating in Andy are due to more than just stereotypical male behaviour.

She now knows they are the result of Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism sometimes referred to as a 'hidden disability' because the symptoms are not always immediately apparent.