Keith Needham

Keith is the Non-clinical Autism assessments Administrator at Hendrickx Associates.

Keith discovered Asperger Syndrome at the age of 36 – unwillingly at first – at the insistence of his partner, Sarah Hendrickx. After a period of denial came acceptance and a desire to know more: ‘it was quite possible I was weird: I was curious’. Keith now fully accepts that Autism ‘fits’ his characteristics and life experiences and is glad to know that his earlier difficulties had a reason: ‘it’s not an excuse, but an explanation’. He was formally diagnosed a few years later.

 Keith spent most of his life alone, requiring a large degree of solitude in order to maintain his successful working life. Bullied as a child and young adult, Keith learned to avoid people, who he believed were mainly hostile. He obtained his degree in Electroacoustics and established himself as a Software Engineer. Outside of his work, Keith had virtually no social contact for most of his life, only having his first relationship when in his 30’s. That all changed when he moved in with Sarah, her children and grandchildren and took voluntary redundancy from the job he had held for 23 years!

With his partner, Sarah, he co-wrote 'Asperger Syndrome - A Love Story' (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2007) about the differences in having a relationship with someone with Asperger Syndrome.