You probably need to find out more about Asperger's and whether or not you actually do have it before you start telling people that you do. A good place to start might be to ask your school counselor for more information and a referral to someone who can determine whether or not you have it. You can also look for books and information at the library and online, etc. Tony Attwood's books have been very helpful for me.

I always felt a connection to autism ever since I first learned about it (I was a psychology major), and always felt like I had characteristics that have to do with the autistic spectrum. I also never have felt able to connect socially (although online is much easier), and I've always been different - in ways that are hard to pinpoint. When I started to read about Asperger's, a lot of things that were always weird or different about me started to make sense, including things that I had no idea were part of Asperger's. I was pretty careful not to tell people that I had Asperger's when I just thought that I did, especially when if I even told them about things that I experienced that are part of it, they shut me down. Like when I experienced loud noises as painful, and they said that it really wasn't even that loud and I had no reason to complain about it, or when I said that I thought it was harder for me to make friends and socialize than it is for other people - they would just criticize what they thought I was doing wrong, or they would say that there was nothing wrong with me at all. If I mentioned Asperger's, they said that I couldn't possibly have that because of some of the things that I have done that they thought would not be possible for someone on the autistic spectrum - for example, I got married, had three kids, and also completed a master's degree in mental health counseling and became a licensed therapist. Some of the people who told me that I couldn't possibly have Asperger's were therapists or other mental health professionals.

I had basically written it off, although I still thought that I had Asperger's traits, when a new therapist I went to, just a few months ago, was talking about discovering that someone has Asperger's and it was someone he had not thought of that way before and was surprised. I reminded him that I have those characteristics too, and we went through those characteristics, and he decided that I do have Asperger's.

I do tell people I know well, or other people who need to understand my weirdnesses, now, that I have Asperger's. Some were surprised, and others said that they could see it, but it has helped them to understand me, and me to understand myself, and it helps to be able to explain why I'm different and what is different about me, and what things just don't work for me or make sense to me. But I needed the validation of someone qualified to confirm that I had it. Even though I am qualified to diagnose Asperger's disorder, self-diagnosis doesn't have much validity. And mental health professionals seem to be particularly hesitant with diagnosing this, maybe because it is a life-long condition and not something that will go away with treatment. But it still helps to have treatment for the support and to learn ways to cope.

Also keep in mind, and if you decide to tell people, also make sure that they realize, we are individuals first. No two people are exactly alike, and no two people with Asperger's are just the same either. There is no mold. Knowing about it just helps with identifying and explaining what you are like, and it is only part of what you are like.