is it normal

If I may venture into this tricky subject area there are two things at work here.

Possibly the nearest that non-autistic adults get to AS type focus and obsession is with fetish - associations with sex, often objects and even people (stalking).  So a fetish for shoes and even one individual persion's shoes isn't that unusual. 

It appears that adult males in particular will develop very strange fetishes, usually association picked up during childhood and adolescence.  Unfortunately Britishness does not favour discussion of the subject, especially not males. Though obviously it goes on in a formalised sense in bravado, boasting etc.

Add AS focus and obsession to this chemistry and you are likely to get more obscure, more highly focussed, and perhaps more pointless fetishism. However the social integration issues mean less self-control or understanding of social boundaries.

So then it does get into "difficult waters" (metaphor), hence the advice you've been given.  There is a lot of public concern that people on the autistic spectrum will behave oddly in public, pester or stalk or behave obsessively towards others. It does seem to happen but not with everybody with AS.

Secondly, and I cannot fathom why parents and parent groups do not seem to address this, people with AS often develop ambiguous sexuality. This probably has something to do with lack of peer guidance, preventing them going down the majority routes.

There is for example, and I've seen statistics on this though how they get them I don't know, a higher propensity for people on the spectrum to be gay - I have heard two to three times more likely to be gay suggested.

Thirdly because of the lack of social cross-referencing, some of the difficulties people with AS encounter in terms of insecurity, need for/rejection of proximity, smells/perfumes etc., and need for compression (squeeze boxes etc.,) will get mixed up in all this.

Given the enormous impact all this must have on young people and young adults on the spectrum, the lack of discussion of the subject, and therefore availability of constructive advice is truly astonishing. Is public sensitivity more important than being honest with your AS teenagers and being prepared to discuss and help with these issues?

If I may venture into this tricky subject area there are two things at work here.

Possibly the nearest that non-autistic adults get to AS type focus and obsession is with fetish - associations with sex, often objects and even people (stalking).  So a fetish for shoes and even one individual persion's shoes isn't that unusual. 

It appears that adult males in particular will develop very strange fetishes, usually association picked up during childhood and adolescence.  Unfortunately Britishness does not favour discussion of the subject, especially not males. Though obviously it goes on in a formalised sense in bravado, boasting etc.

Add AS focus and obsession to this chemistry and you are likely to get more obscure, more highly focussed, and perhaps more pointless fetishism. However the social integration issues mean less self-control or understanding of social boundaries.

So then it does get into "difficult waters" (metaphor), hence the advice you've been given.  There is a lot of public concern that people on the autistic spectrum will behave oddly in public, pester or stalk or behave obsessively towards others. It does seem to happen but not with everybody with AS.

Secondly, and I cannot fathom why parents and parent groups do not seem to address this, people with AS often develop ambiguous sexuality. This probably has something to do with lack of peer guidance, preventing them going down the majority routes.

There is for example, and I've seen statistics on this though how they get them I don't know, a higher propensity for people on the spectrum to be gay - I have heard two to three times more likely to be gay suggested.

Thirdly because of the lack of social cross-referencing, some of the difficulties people with AS encounter in terms of insecurity, need for/rejection of proximity, smells/perfumes etc., and need for compression (squeeze boxes etc.,) will get mixed up in all this.

Given the enormous impact all this must have on young people and young adults on the spectrum, the lack of discussion of the subject, and therefore availability of constructive advice is truly astonishing. Is public sensitivity more important than being honest with your AS teenagers and being prepared to discuss and help with these issues?