I'm really sorry to hear you're having such a difficult time of it.

I've had very mixed reactions to my diagnosis (wasn't diagnosed until recently), some of my friends (which are few in number) have been very supportive of it. They have read up on it too, which at first did make me feel uncomfortable until my mum sat me down and explained that it was actually a nice thing apparently because it means they want to be able to look out for me and understand me better. I'm still out on that one, I feel like they're studying me and I'm not sure if I like it. But they have indeed been supportive and I've been able to tell them a lot of things I've kept to myself for years because I always thought I was just being 'awkward'.

Then on the other hand, I have a couple of friends with whom I've tried to be as open who have turned round and said "well you only just found out you have Aspergers so how come you never had these problems before?"... Which is just upsetting because I've always had these 'problems' but I've always just kept them to myself. Now that I know why I am this way, I don't see why I should keep trying to function like everybody else when I'm not like that.

Fortunately I've not had anybody come up to me and start hugging me or touching me to get a rise out of me. Forgive me for saying, but I think that's quite offensive that your friends are doing that to you. If you had no legs would they tip you out of your wheelchair and run around you in circles? No. So why do this?

I think a lot of it may come down to the whole lack of knowledge problem of Autism as a whole. A lot of people still don't accept that it is caused by a difference in the neurology of our brains. They think it's 'funny' that we don't like being touched, without understanding that it can actually cause us both physical and psychological pain. It's hard for people to understand what they don't see, heck even then it's hard for people to understand something they don't feel themselves.

Maybe it would be worth trying to talk to them about it? Or if you don't think it'd make a difference, then perhaps it's time to simply walk away from them?

I'm sorry if this wasn't a very helpful post.