NTs don't take our disorder seriously

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Yup. Being NT and being compassionate are two completely separate things.

I think that empathy is misunderstood and overrated.

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Unapologetically, Norny.
-chronically drunk

we don't run the same software.

There are two types of Empathy.

1. Affective aka Emotional Empathy

2. Cognitive Empathy

and there are subtypes of Affective Empathy.

It is said that Autistic people are high in Affective /Emotional Empathy and typically lack Cognitive Empathy.

Psychopaths, on the other hand, lack Affective/Emotional Empathy, however they do possess significant Cognitive Empathy, which is the type of empathy required for having an ability to 'read' people.

Perhaps Neurotypical people, have less Affective Empathy than ASD people, and more Cognitive Empathy, so they arent as equiped as we are, to 'put themselves in another's shoes', but much more equiped to read body language, pick up social cues, etc.

They dont understand when a person says "i don't want to be around people" because they're probably a Extrovert; they get pleasure and energy by being with people. it makes no sense to them when you say " i want to be alone" they think your depressed and avoident, they want to help.

I think a lot of people see our problems as just skills we haven't learned. Some of them enjoy looking down on us and laughing at us because they think that they have made the effort and gone out and learned those skills while we were too lazy and/or stupid to do so.

To be fair, we're probably asking people to understand that we can't do things that they aren't even aware that they can do. It's easy to see that a wheelchair-user can't negotiate a staircase but it's harder to grasp that I can't recognise the faces of office colleagues if I don't see them often or if I see them out of context.

For years before my diagnosis I was told that social interaction would get easier for me if I just went out more often and that sensory issues would get easier to deal with if I just tried to tough it out. I tried and I tried but neither of these things happened. I think it's safe to say at my age now that they're not going to happen.

I must do what I can of course and I think that I can interact with people fairly well if they are willing to give me a bit of slack - I've met lots of people who come across who are far ruder who would never consider that they were lacking in social skills.

ME: This (applying whatever solution Manager/Supervisor/Co-worker has suggested for a problem) might be really difficult for me because of Asperger's Syndrome.
NT CoWorker: I am sick and tired of hearing about your autism and Asperger's Syndrome. We all have issues, just deal with it!

**smh**

Do people not understand the difference between "issues" (life is hard, bad stuff happens, everybody struggles and Murphy's Law) and an actual disability?

Do they say to dyslexics, I'm sick of your excuses, just read the manual?

Do they say to people in wheelchairs, "I'm sick of you needing to wait for the (super slow) elevator to go up just one floor, why don't you stand up so we can take the (much faster plus we're getting our exercise) stairs?"

Do they say to people with Downs Syndrome "math is hard for everyone, just work harder at it then you'll be able to help others with their homework?"

It's a disability. Accommodate, or leave me alone so I can cope with it my own way. 99% chance your way won't work for me because Asperger's Syndrome, whether you like/understand/tolerate autism or not. -_-