Turned his back and fell asleep as I tried to talk about my autistic son and his struggles..

[forwhomthebelltrolls]

When I lay beside partner, trying to chat about my child who has autism and struggles socially. I was quietly tearful and very sad at the time. I had never been emotional about him before but there had been an issue for my child that day.

He is not his son.

He turned over.
He fell asleep.
I'm just shocked
Can there be any excusing this ?

To play devil's advocate/be a bit of an arsehole: sometimes discussions about children that aren't yours are boring. Coupled with being tired/comfortable/ready to sleep, I'm not surprised he fell asleep. Still dickish behaviour.

If this is once off behaviour then he could have been exhausted, although he actively rolled away which isn’t very supportive. If this is a pattern where you get upset and he disengages then that is a problem.

I have a teenager with SEN. If he is having a tough time the only time I can express this to my DH is usually at night, because if I am upset and worried then I don’t want my teen walking in on that conversation.

Sometimes there can be a difference in communication styles and expectations in a relationship and this should definitely be discussed together to see if this relationship has what it takes.