I had no friends as a child. But I was able to make quite a few friends in my twenties and early thirties.
One of the most important things I did was to develop a concept of friendship that worked with, rather than against, the very same aspects of my personality that most people were turned off by.
For example, I have the stereotypical HFA tendency to monologue about my special interests. So, I decided that a friend must be a person who can actually enjoy listening to me (at least sometimes), and who, in turn, also has things to say that I find interesting. Thus, for me, shared interests -- and a shared enjoyment of in-depth discussion about the shared interests -- are a sine qua non of friendship.
There's more to friendship than just that, of course, but, for me, that's where friendship starts.
Hence, for me, the main key to making friends was to look for people who shared my interests and enjoyed discussing them.
_________________
- Autistic in NYC - Resources and new ideas for the autistic adult community in the New York City metro area.
- Autistic peer-led groups (via text-based chat, currently) led or facilitated by members of the Autistic Peer Leadership Group.