If you actively try to hide the obvious then people will feel uncomfortable around you. Moreso if they aren't able to guess what's going on because then you're just a weird mystery. If you seem afraid or ashamed to talk about AS then your friends and family may pick up on that and then they'll be afraid or ashamed for you as well which only makes things worse. If you're optimistic and treat it as "no big deal" then they will probably feel the same way.
In my case, my AS and sexual orientation are just part of who I am and I don't avoid the topics at all. They come up when they come up, neither forced nor avoided. If someone doesn't know what AS is then I sometimes tell them I'm "marginally autistic", which is just shorthand for "something like Rainman but not as profoundly affected". It's not a really accurate way of putting things but it serves the purpose of being both recognizable and optimistic.
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What would Flying Spaghetti Monster do?
27 Jun 2006, 9:30 am
