From my personal experience, it can make it hard. However, I did not know what I now suspect is my diagnosis, so keep that in mind, but I sincerely believe this was the driving factor in my withdrawing, despite being in the top 25% (at least), to pursue research.
I had always wanted to be a vet, since I was quite little. I loved animal science, veterinary medicine, and all things biology (take a crack at what my special interest was ^_~). I was massive over qualified by the time I applied, having worked for a subset of the vet school that taught supplemental instruction for pre-vet courses, finishing ~130 credits in science (for those of you who guessed zoology, you win!), and having a high GPA/honors etc. This is not just my opinion, I was informed of my over qualification by the admissions department, whom I worked with.
However, upon starting in a class of 113 people, my life quickly fell apart. Spending eight hours a day with that many people in a room was too much, I didn't fit in with many of them and was at a complete loss for the politics. These were mostly female students, so as you can imagine, the subtle politics were too much for my comprehension. Additionally, much of the material was a review from the courses I had before (understandable since it was first year and we were all from differing backgrounds), which drove me to skip every lecture. I instead hid in my research lab (behavioral neuroscience - two people total, lots of time to my self, quite).
I became depressed and sought counseling. That did not help. I was faced with telling my background to someone I didn't know, whom I didn't think understood, and I became more desperate. I alternated between trying to fit in and drowning my social awkwardness in wine. I tried to get people to go out, overcompensating for my awkwardness, but they just thought I wasn't serious and was a huge partier. The last straw occurred when I was passed up for a position in the wildlife ward because one of the two people there didn't like me (during my interview, which was terribly awkward, they kept telling me that if someone didn't get the position, it wasn't because they didn't think I was qualified, but because they didn't fit well with the team). This hurt and made me realize how ill equipt I was for competing for the few and far between exotics positions that would lead to my desired career. I wasn't going to risk not being able to pursue my interests because my inability to deal with needless politics.
I am not particularly proud of this point in my life. It was very difficult to tell my family why I was leaving. They still don't understand, but I am not close enough with them (or anyone, surprise) to tell them what I suspect is my diagnosis. My point in telling you this narrative is not to discourage you from pursuing the career. I hope knowing your diagnosis will help you overcome this issue, but I just want you to be aware of a couple of points you may end up having problems with:
1) social politics are ridiculous, everyone is hyper competitive.
2) you will be a bit of a disadvantage in getting the opportunities you need to pursue such a small field
3) it is very hard to be in a room with that many people all the time
4) a lot of the first year is a review, this is painful to many aspies, as I hear
5) your classmates will hold it against you for getting information faster and being aloof
I will end this "short" recant with a happy ending. I am currently finishing up a major master's project and will be attending a very well known research school for my PhD, ridiculously funded. I do conservation genetics and herpetology, very close to what I wanted to do. Sometimes, its better to branch out. I am MUCH happier.
Best of luck,
K