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Does anyone else with ASD ever feel like they irritate people?

TwelveTwelve

Apologies if this seems like an odd question!

But does anyone with ASD ever feel like they irritate people? Friends, family, colleagues etc. Sometimes the feedback I get is that I "give off a vibe" that possibly seems like I am dis interested or annoyed, I'm not, but it seems to create an environment where lately I feel like I annoy people for simply being myself.

I'm pretty sure I really struggle to recognize emotion in other people, and I worry that might mean I miss the mark, but I don't know what is my ASD and what is other people's general issues. Has anyone had any similar experiences? Do other folks on here with ASD ever feel like this? 

I don't want to irritate people obviously, but I also don't want to blame my ASD on something completely unassociated, and I especially don't want to think people are irritated when they are not, it's just my poor understanding of reading peoples emotions!

Parents

  • I’m wondering if styles of communication is where autistic people can seem irritating or aggressive. In the workplace neurotypical people enjoy and expect a certain amount of small talk, a person may tell me all about their weekend or previously for me  about their children’s school activities . I would normally give a one word answer, I’ve learned that it throws them off balance, I can seem rude or uncaring.

    The truth is that I’m often not interested as I’m normally immersed in something else, I’ve also often not really listened as my brain is somewhere else. Time has taught me to at least look interested and hopefully smile at the right time.

Reply

  • I’m wondering if styles of communication is where autistic people can seem irritating or aggressive. In the workplace neurotypical people enjoy and expect a certain amount of small talk, a person may tell me all about their weekend or previously for me  about their children’s school activities . I would normally give a one word answer, I’ve learned that it throws them off balance, I can seem rude or uncaring.

    The truth is that I’m often not interested as I’m normally immersed in something else, I’ve also often not really listened as my brain is somewhere else. Time has taught me to at least look interested and hopefully smile at the right time.

Children
  • in reply to Roy

    Same! I got told recently that its rude to tell people "I'm not interested in that, sorry" when being overly engaged by someone on a topic I struggle to care about. I didn't mean it in anyway whatsoever as offensive, it was purely a means to not waste anyones time. On reflection that may have come across as rude, even though I would never have wanted it to! I guess that's why we mask.