How to I explained my recent diagnosis? People do not seem to believe me. (Adult Aspergers)

The eye contact 'thing' crops up all the time. Apart from if you actually avert your eyes by visibly looking elsewhere, how can anyone tell.

Because non-autistics never stop going on about it, many adults try to look in roughly the expectred direction, though they may actually be looking at people's mouths (a common alternative) or their ears. It is not as if anyone can tell that's not eye contact.

You having been in the army, I cannot imagine you would have got very far if you visibly refused to appear to make eye contact.

It is not so much the eye contact that is important though, as how well you read facial expressions, and how well you yourself generate facial expressions. You need to be 'making eye contact' so you can read faces and others can read yours.

Likewise akwardness in a social situation implies shyness. People on the spectrum can be quite bold. It is about how much non-verbal information you pick up, and failing that, how much do you compensate. Your probably compensated very well in the army where there was a visible structure, but would find it harder in the world outside.

Tiring quickly though is an indication you are having to work harder in order to compensate.

These things vary from individual to individual, but I think the primary element is being in the army, where there is an infrastructure of predictable responses - not so in the big wide world.

Personally I wouldn't have made it in the army, so you have my admiration for that.

The eye contact 'thing' crops up all the time. Apart from if you actually avert your eyes by visibly looking elsewhere, how can anyone tell.

Because non-autistics never stop going on about it, many adults try to look in roughly the expectred direction, though they may actually be looking at people's mouths (a common alternative) or their ears. It is not as if anyone can tell that's not eye contact.

You having been in the army, I cannot imagine you would have got very far if you visibly refused to appear to make eye contact.

It is not so much the eye contact that is important though, as how well you read facial expressions, and how well you yourself generate facial expressions. You need to be 'making eye contact' so you can read faces and others can read yours.

Likewise akwardness in a social situation implies shyness. People on the spectrum can be quite bold. It is about how much non-verbal information you pick up, and failing that, how much do you compensate. Your probably compensated very well in the army where there was a visible structure, but would find it harder in the world outside.

Tiring quickly though is an indication you are having to work harder in order to compensate.

These things vary from individual to individual, but I think the primary element is being in the army, where there is an infrastructure of predictable responses - not so in the big wide world.

Personally I wouldn't have made it in the army, so you have my admiration for that.