I was diagnosed as being autistic when I was 5 years old after being previous being diagnosed as being "profoundly deaf" at 3 years old (I was nonverbal and didn't respond to my parents at all so the doctors at the time told them I was deaf). The "deaf" diagnosis was overturned when I was 5 because I started responding to my parents and talking back to them. When I was 17, my psychiatrist who was treating me for Major Depression Disorder (an interesting time in my life that involved years of therapy and 2 tours in across three different mental hospitals because I was suicidal) diagnosed me as having Asperger's Syndrome.
Having read the article, I do have the following to say...
I never went to any sort of therapy for my autism. Originally the doctors wanted to send me to a special education school but my parents refused and insisted on sending me to regular school. I never underwent ABA or anything like that. I was quite literally thrown into the deep end of the pool and told to swim. My early childhood was largely isolated and all the way through high school I was frequently the target of bullies. That being said, I did well in school academically and I did have a small handful of friends throughout the years so my existence was not nearly so bleak as the authors. I consider the loss of my viginity to be a wonderful accident and a product of the modern age. I lost my virginity to my ENFJ who I met on the Internet. She lived in Winnipeg Manitoba and I lived in NE Florida. If I had been born a decade sooner, I'm not sure how things would have turned out.
As an adult with Aspergers, I find I largely fit in but only because I've learned how to navigate my way around. People generally find me politely and somewhat affable, and thats the persona I try very hard to project. In truth I find a lot of people to be a deeply fascinating if chaotic mess and I often find myself getting lost in watching groups of people and/or individuals and watching how they act around other people.
I've managed to maintain good relations with some people but at the present point in time I wouldn't say I really have any friends, just acquaintances. These people seem to enjoy my time and I enjoy but thats about where it ends. My ENFJ-ex and I still call and text each other a lot but by and large I'm generally left alone and most of the time I have no issue with this. It does get very lonely sometimes and I don't know how to properly reach out to people without coming off as needy or clingy when I'm going through they dry spells. As such, I tend to spend my leisure time losing myself in books, movies, or video games and I can become so immersed in them that
they start feeling like the real world and reality can seem like a dream....but only sometimes. Most of the time I just suffer a bit of disorientation but I'm otherwise OK.
Girlfriends and my intimate relationships are few and far between. I think I have a lot of positive qualities for a person and I feel I have a lot to offer to a potential mate, I've just yet to find one who is looking for someone like me. While at the present point in time I have voluntarily chosen to stay alone as I haven't finish processing emotionally my last breakup some months ago, I am optimistic about my future. I've noticed in the women around me that the older they get, the more they value consistency and reliability in their mates and I feel I might start to appeal more to women the older I get. I'm the co-owner of a real estate business that is prospering and I receive a steady income. I have no bad habits, I like to go dancing (and in fact have been told I am an excellent ballroom dancer), and I'm willing to try anything once although I may not be the one to take the initiative to go out and do stuff: I'm happy in my little shell and while I don't mind stepping outside of it, I dont't really feel the need to go outside of it just for the sake of doing it. My greatest flaw I would say is expressing myself emotionally: I either over do it or barely do it at all. I'm still a Feeler though, so I'm properly a little bit ahead of the curb in that respect
As such, I think I might appeal who is looking for a quiet, dependable helpmate, whomever that may be.
I wouldn't say I feel any need to go out of my way and label myself as being different some everyone else but I have found that telling friends/girlfriends about my Aspergers to be helpful as it helps them to understand some of my behaviors (that I take things so literally, that I can be very blunt and straight to the point when discussing something). I don't consider what I have to be a disability, just a quirk.