Coming out: Autism

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Howdy. I'm 16, male, well-liked, respected, attractive, intelligent, successful, and... Autistic.
Call it Asperger's, High-Functioning, or whatever you want, but it's THERE, and it has permanently left its mark on every aspect of my life.
I like to keep my secrets, and this is something I've never shared outside my family. I wish I could explain to my friends about my meltdowns, being overloaded, overstimulated, and why I sometimes struggle to understand, relate to, and socialize with them.
I am known for being cold, emotionless, and logical to the extreme. I've been compared to a rock many times for this. I'm just trying to maintain control, and not be the stereotypical "autistic kid" when I get upset.
How do I tell my friends? How do I convince them that I'm actually autistic? Should I just keep it a secret?
I'm not looking for "I'm here, and I'm queer!". I need to make sure this is more than a label to them.

My advice is keep your mouth shut about your autism, there is no need to tell every tom, dick and harry about it.

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Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity I am not a jigsaw, I am a free man !

Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

My advice is keep your mouth shut about your autism, there is no need to tell every tom, dick and harry about it.

_________________
Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity I am not a jigsaw, I am a free man !

Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

Unless you need a get out of jail free card, it's not like they have to know it.

By that I mean, if you're panicking in public or just have to leave a situation.. most of my friends don't know. The only ones who do know have known me my whole life, I have no desire to tell anyone else.

Honestly I think it would be a misnomer if you "came out" as autistic. When you come out when you're gay, it may not be entirely obvious beforehand whether you were attracted to people of the same sex. Coming out may come as a bit of a shock to some. But in the case of ASD, people who are around you, even for short amounts of time may think you're a bit off. There's really no way to fake ASD, otherwise you wouldn't have been diagnosed in the first place! The other thing here is that weird people (I'm using a blanket term here, but that's the point) have been around for a long time, and it's easier to accept the fact that some is weird because it's immediately obvious. On the flip side, western society has not even really come to terms yet with homosexuality. That's my 2 cents.

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