dating a boy...

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i'm a nearly seventeen year old girl who doesn't have asperger's and up until now has had almost no experience with it. i have started dating a boy who has it, and it's difficult for me to understand how to deal with it, and it makes me feel really frustrated. if anyone could give me some tips on how to relate to him better, that would be really helpful. thanks.

Welcome to the site. There is tons of info here about that type of thing but I think the best way to learn is to observe the kinds of problems others with the syndrome are having here.

Here's a wikipedia article that explains AS in detail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger%27s

While people with Aspergers syndrome have less social and emotional development than your average "neurotypical" person, we are often just an intellectually intelligent as anyone else, if often not more so. But because of this, we have trouble reading social cues and conveying our own emotions. Some of us may not always be aware of what is socially appropriate. If he acts uninterested at times, or doesn't pick up on a flirty signal, thats probably the AS. Speaking from my own experience in relationships, you may have to verbalize things more often with him. He may not pick up on body language too well.

We also have "narrow, but intense interests". Find out what are the things in his life that really interest him. He'll have an easier time relating and talking to you about the things he is really interested in and knows, and is probably a good way to let him feel more comfortable with you, and to really open up more.

I hope that helps. If you could go into more detail about what exactly your frustrations are, I could probably give you a few more pointers.

Cheers