Hello All,

Hope you are all doing well despite the current circumstances of the world. Given that society is in a fair amount of turmoil, this is a great time to open up a discussion about the perception of others and how our autism shapes that view.

There have been times in my life where colleagues, friends, classmates/peers start off with an initally positive rapport that is unfortunately shredded at a later date. In the past, this has led to bullying in the workplace and strained interpersonal relationships. When there are other clearly neurodiverse individuals sharing the room with me, oftentimes crude comparisons are made to minimize both myself and the other person.

It’s a bit confusing why this happens so often, but I’d imagine that when I get more comfortable, parts of the mask come off. Another guess would be that I may be socially blind to certain actions that may alter one’s perception.

Wanted to see if any of you relate to this, as it would be a great discussion item to see how others feel. Wishing you all the best.