Really Struggling Socially

Hello,

My name is Daniel. I've very recently been diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) at the age of 25, and am now really hoping that this new understanding about myself may finally help me to overcome key struggles that have always plagued me, with the biggest struggle being socialising and building social connections.

I'm very typical of someone with Asperger's syndrome.

Where should I start??

Thank you.

Parents Reply Children
  • There are more adrenalin junky nerds than you might expect although most of them tend to prefer activities that don’t involve teamwork or lots of sweating. Think laser tag, go carting and LARP. Martial arts actually attracts some. Like maybe 2 to 5% of my martial arts class was nerdy. But sports clubs / martial arts etc are very bad generally for socialising unless they have an organised weekly social event attached which most don't. If you have only an informal social it’s more likely to only attract the social butterfly crowed and be a bit clieacy. 

    id say look at nerdy groups and look for the adrenaline junkies in that circle.

  • Hey Peter. It's something that I've been looking into for years, but I just seem to keep running into the same problems and difficulties.

    It's a bit of a long story, so I'll try and keep it brief. I seem to have a bit of a split personality. I'm fascinated by subjects such as: Physics, Artificial Intelligence, Maths, Astronomy, Space Technology, etc. I recently graduated from a distance learning University with a first class honours in BSc Maths. On the other hand, I really enjoy that "MTV's Jackass" style of stupidity in my down time, and am a real adrenaline junkie. Some people seems to fit into one of these categories or the other, most people don't fit into either, and almost no-one fits them both.

    The closest thing I found to finding my sort of people was when I used to be in the Air Cadets, and am now trying to join the Army Reserve (although, socially, it's far harder). In the past, I've tried: gymnastics, church, volunteering, outdoor adventure societies, rock climbing, Judo, Kickboxing, Krav Maga, but keep really struggling to click with most people.

    I'm trying to take up football as a new hobby, and am looking to do an MSc in the future, but I don't want to just keep making the same mistakes, and continually feel like I'm flogging a dead horse.

    I'd love to know what you think Slight smile.