Reciprocation Regression

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I recently got my official diagnosis, and one of the things the doctor mentioned is that I showed a a 'limited ability to reciprocate in conversation', meaning that when she tried to make small talk with me I did little to engage with her beyond answering her questions. I feel that more than just a 'limited ability' it's a 'diminished' ability. I had to learn how to actually engage in conversations, and for a while I think I was doing alright with it. Lately though I think my conversation skills have dropped off, and it's because of my interactions with 'normal' people. For all the talk about how ASD types don't engage as well in conversation it's been my experience that most of the people I've conversed with have done a worse job participating in a full on conversation. One of the reasons my conversation skills have dropped off is because whenever I have conversed with my 'friends' for the past year or so there has been little actual conversation to be part of. In my experiences over the past year or two almost every conversation I have been in has involved me putting far more effort into reciprocation. It's not just because I have to put in more effort, it's that the other person has put in minimal effort. I can't begin to describe all of the conversations I've had with 'friends' that involve me asking them all the questions they want to answer, sorting through their personal issues with them, learning about their life, and they don't ask me anything at all, or they ask the most basic question possible and don't show any interest in the answer at all. It's experiences like that that have driven me to sort of give up on engaging in little conversations. I can't be bothered to pour so much energy into something that no one else is going to care about at all, something that other people are going to so easily take for granted. It feels like I'm working myself ragged trying to keep up socially with others, and everyone else has no qualms with not trying at all, because if they really wanted to it would be easy anyway. What's the use of better keeping up a conversation like a normal person if normal people won't keep up a conversation with me? Has anyone else experienced this sort of thing? It just frustrates me to feel like even though I'm the one with the disorder they're all the ones who have the problem.

Usually, when someone doesn't hold up his end, it's because he wants out. Aspies are the exception to that.
You and s/he are not connecting, and it doesn't much matter why. I would guess that you're trying too hard.
You can't force it if they don't want to be friends. Try someone else.

I've kind of tried that, but most of the time those kinds of conversations wind up happening with people that call themselves my friends anyway. I don't talk with new people very often, so the conversations I do have usually end up being with friends, which may be why the lack of reciprocation is more disappointing. They call themselves my friends, and they express that friendship in any way that doesn't matter. The same sort of thing happens when I do try to talk to new people, but I think that's because a lot of people can just sense something's wrong with me now. They're more obvious about not wanting to take part in a conversation, but my friends will be all too happy to let me ask the questions while they tell me about their lives.

I've had it happen yes. Sometimes, I had to move in, even though I couldn't exactly find new friends. Someone doesn't want to have conversation or enjoy me, sometimes too hard to keep trying.