Anybody here embarrassed to tell people you have ASD?

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No I don't tell people I am on it. It's none of their business what I have been diagnosed with. I also think they wouldn't believe me either.

I think exactly the same way.
The adage: "The truth shall set you free"
Is appropriate here.

Had I known why I was so different, I would have achieved my glorious enlightenment much earlier in life. <beam>
The confusion set me back decades, literally.

"How could I be so smart in some areas and so dumb in others?"
Does this ring a bell for anyone?

You "need" to consider the context of the situation.
Generally speaking, it is none of anyone's business.
However, in an intimate relationship that might develop into a family situation, disclosure in a moral imperative, surely.
If it's just a fling or it is made clear there will be no children, then no one needs to know, agreed.

That is definitely another factor as to why I haven't told my boyfriend. I know that he'd say "no you haven't". He even said it when I told him about having ADHD, and my ADHD symptoms are much more visible. Then a few days later he said, "why are you so hyper sometimes?", to which I replied, "I told you, I have ADHD". He didn't say anything after that.

Both my ex's knew and my teachers and doctors and my husband knows. My kids don't know and I think they are too young to understand. My mom also blew the whistle to my son's pediatrician when she was at one of my son's appointments. I guess he now knows why I have troubles filling out child milestones questionnaire and why I can't always answer questions and why I don't look at him often. My son's school knows too. I don't know if his teacher knows.

I think it's just my anxiety that tells me no one will believe me. I mean I wouldn't tell a random stranger because they are only seeing a few seconds of my life or a few minutes of my life and they don't see me daily. I am sure my co workers wouldn't be surprised. I know one of them wasn't when I told him because he had to ask what my disability is and wouldn't accept "it doesn't have a name" as an answer. But he said "Oh everything makes sense now."

As a child, none of the medical professionals thought I was autistic but I tell myself "what year was it then?" Even my clinical psychologist didn't think I was autistic in 1995 when my mom had me tested for AS. She said she didn't see it in my behavior. My mom had accepted that opinion and moved on and continued trying to treat my ADD and whatever I had going on. Back then AS and autism were two different things because AS had less symptoms than autism.

Okay I lied, I did tell a random stranger once but only because she said "You don't seem very competent" when we started talking. It didn't bother me when she said "You must be high functioning then" because I think that is true if I slip and and out of it and I don't mean going from high functioning to low. I must have been nervous or something if I was off.

I just don't tell people in general and it's always hard to finally tell someone when I am going to be seeing them again.

You can always have him ask your parents about it if he doesn't believe you and also if you have your medical records, show it to him to prove it. My husband didn't have a problem believing me after we met because he said he could already tell. He didn't know what AS was then but he still knew I had something going on.

I am currently wrestling with telling my brother that I am also diagnosed with autism (also meaning that my daughter was diagnosed fairly recently as well). I am planning to visit him and his family with my daughter for a few days during the school holidays.
I feel like he maybe needs to know, as he is quite likely to try and arrange a noisy, busy party while I am there as that's how he is and he doesn't see why I wouldn't enjoy it!
Fact is I'm another one who's scared he'll simply say "No you're not!".

EDIT: I have told my husband and children though. They already knew (I couldn't shut up about it at one stage) so that was never an issue. Also, I have told a few other people who are close to me and they weren't surprised either.

I saw an obviously gay kid wearing pink pants with the word "f**k" printed all over it.
I might be the sort of person (inside) who would have a jacket with the word "aspie" instead.
The thing preventing me is the fact that I am not really a flag waver.
Too old for that, and it was never my thing in any case.
I've always have had a preference to stay in the background.

However,
I am also compulsively honest and open and have a desire to disseminate information about autism to the still ignorant mainstream population.

To each their own. <shrug>

Well, I have a family member who is a psychotherapist.
It took me many years to convince the person that I was on the spectrum.
The same thing happened with Tony Attwood, the autism expert.
He didn't recognise that his own son was autistic until his son was a young man.

I guess it is a case of people being too close to each other. <shrug>

That's very similarto my experience. When I got my diagnosis mum said, "yeah I knew it was aspergers when you were 11. I just didn't think it mattered."

The difference between me and my daughter is that I had no emotional/social support, which my daughter does have.

Not at all embarrassed, but careful. The world is still full of ignorance and bigotry and unscrupulous people. I tell people I know well and trust.

Same here and it sux, in hindsight.
The autie kids today have it so much easier.

I told my friends and my parents. I did try telling a cousin who works with special needs children everyday but she just ignored me. I'm not ashamed of it but I think others don't react positively, especially in dating until they are close to me. They probably are probably just confused as I don't act like rainman and they don't really know what it means to be autistic, with only stereotypes to work with. I guess I hide it the same as my sexuality. I do tell any healthcare professionals I come across that I have autism so that they can see the whole picture, if I act atypical then that's likely why and so that they stop misdiagnosing me with other s**t.

Same happened with John Robison, he also didn't know his son was also on the spectrum. He was very social and had friends and John didn't as a kid. Plus his son had facial expressions and responded to them and he didn't. His son also had learning disabilities. His ADHD (If I recall correctly) ex wife was also on it too and he didn't know it.

Previous to shows like: "The Good Doctor"
Mainstream people were often exposed to documentaries, etc, which depicted profoundly autistic individuals.
So telling someone off the street usually gets disbelief because they have erroneous ideas on what it is like to be on the spectrum.
I believe profoundly autistic people are a small subset of those on the spectrum.
Most of us are higher functioning.

Also people severe as Shaun Murphy would not be able to work in that field. I understand it's just a TV show and TV shows are not real life so therefore they are not accurate. They are just for fun and entertainment.