I was diagnosed when I was 15 with Asperger's Syndrome. At that point, many things in my life had been going wrong, and more diagnoses such as Major Clinical Depression, Acute Stress and PTSD came hailing over me.
I felt like a freak. I thought I was the loneliest person in the world, and that everyone hated me for being different. I was so shy I didn't even dare to talk to anyone, barely even my own parents for a while.
But I excelled in school in almost every single class, and to this day I still do. But I didn't see that as a good thing then, since people called me "geeky" and "freak-girl".
I actually cried when my parents told me I had Asperger's. (They went to the psychiatrist without me to hear my diagnosis; I didn't want anything to do with it at the time). I cried hysterically: "Now they'll KNOW I'm a freak! They were right all along!" and refused to accept it.
I couldn't go to school anymore, because of the bullying and my increasing anxiety attacks. I would've missed 9th grade, hadn't I been taken in at high school a year early. I studied the rest of my 9th grade there, and continued to go there until just recently. I graduated just a week ago, in fact.
Let me tell you something. It was THE BEST experience of my life. I got in a program for people with AS; the teachers understood me and supported me, my peers had exactly the same diagnosis and respect towards me as I had for them, and I even found my wonderful boyfriend there (We've been together for almost 8 months now )

So, to everyone else out there who has AS, or has recently been diagnosed:
Don't give up. Don't see it as a disadvantage, but as a gift. Turn it to something good, and show those other bullies that you won't take any crap. Show them that you can be BETTER than them, and teach others to respect you.
Good luck.