I'm not saying anything to be rude, rather this has been my experience...

I know someone who has Asperger's and even though I've known him for a number of years, its impossible to connect with him on an emotional level. Yes, I understand the saying that if you've met one person with Aspergers then you've met one person with Aspergers but in all honesty, this saying can be applied to any disorder out there, and it wouldn't be a disorder with common threads running throughout if there weren't commonalities amongst those with the disorder.

My friend, well, he doesn't understand how to be empathetic or how to emotionally care about me. He can show he cares in his own way, but it ultimately feels cold to me. Recently I hurt myself and he didn't care to ask me how I was doing, and didn't care that I was in pain. Simply put, no empathy.

I know I can't paint everyone with the same paintbrush, but given the emotional non-connected-ness that is indeed a common thread in Aspergers, I think this may indeed be part of the issue. You may feel some sort of connectedness with people but perhaps aren't able to show it, so the other person doesn't feel connected to you. And then things just fall apart.

Yes, the disorder stinks, and on the other side, I am feeling so incredibly blindsided by the whole thing....(My friend tried to hide his disorder, so instead of working with the disorder, I had "NT" expectations for him that he couldn't meet. Even now that I know the truth, its just too late. You don't hide something this major from someone for so long and then wonder why things go awry.)

This is just my experience, I'm not saying it applies to everyone with the disorder.