nick007 wrote:
The cliques can mob against you thou. I was physically bullied a lot as a kid because I was different. When I told em about my dyslexicia; they bullied me even more. I think it's better just to be yourself & not worry about explaining your AS or other diagnoses because doing that is like having a kick me sign on your back
Have you experienced this as an adult? I haven't had bullying problems since finishing school and moving on to college, and the only people giving me a hard time over it are my immediate family, while everyone else is perfectly fine about it! I know people can be idiots, but only the least mature or close-minded adults could cause problems. Yes, we should be ourselves and not worry about explaining diagnoses, but it's not as if I meet new people by saying "Hello, I have AS, how are you?" I meet people, get to know them gradually, and when they make it obvious that they like me I allow myself from then on to bring up AS in any conversations it may pop up in. I guess my casual approach to it helps - it's not that I get psyched up to go tell them about my AS, I just let it come up as it does with other people who know already and don't make any big deal out of it. We even have jokes about it. I think it's really important that the people in my life know so that I don't have to go making up stories and lies for when I desperately need them not to drag me out to the pub or a nightclub or something. When they know that I can't cope with certain things, they won't pressure me. They know that if I do go somewhere with a bunch of people, I leave early sometimes to avoid meltdown and not to avoid them. If they don't know about my AS, they'll think I'm antisocial which I actually am not, and therefore I can truly be myself and socialize without the pressure of doing it their way! I can't be myself without people knowing that there are reasons behind what looks like something that should be taken personally by them.