Is it normal to have no friends?

[Ronald Zeeman]

I'M actually an extravert wife has to get me to shut up time to go. Most of my family are walking encyclopedias and I am no different. Like to talk when with buddies, not your typical Aspie.

 

[Progster]

It depends on your definition of 'friends'. I have quite a few aquaintances who I know and see once in a while, but no close friends.

 

[Misty Avich]

I live my life feeling resentful and sad because of the teenage years I missed out on. While my peers were most probably spending week-ends and evenings and school holidays hanging out together with their friends, I felt like I was trapped inside an isolated bubble looking out, with a label saying ''the girl nobody likes'' written on the bubble. The heartache has never left me and I don't think it ever will. As my brain is very good at retaining memories instead of facts, I can't really avoid the memories and the feelings they come with. The only thankful thing I can think of is that I was well loved by family including my parents, and so had a secure home and family life. But I still really wanted to fit in at high school too.
Often I was treated like I was invisible. Most Aspies, particularly females who are on the mild end of the spectrum like me, often sort of blend in at high school. My mum's friend has a 15-year-old daughter who is awaiting a diagnosis of Asperger's, but she's not as lonely as I was at that age. She often gets invited to parties but refuses to go because she doesn't like social situations. But at least they invite her. I could say that nobody had parties when I was that age, but now that I think of it, they probably did a lot but just never invited me or even mentioned it to me, so I was just oblivious. Realising this really hurts.

 

[AprilR]

I have only one friend. It is not normal i think but not normal does not make it bad. It also says nothing about your personal worth. For a long time i felt like an evil defective person for it but now i dont care. I am my own best friend

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

I’ve always struggled to keep long term friendships. I hope I’m not the only one to experience this. I wanted to ask others to pitch in an share their experiences. Currently, I have no friends except my parents. I’ve always had a hard time making friends.

It is ok.
I think it is harder for am autistic. You hopefully will meet some nice people and make them.
It is ok, you are not a loser for it and it will happen. It just may take time.

 

[MR TV]

i have frieds, i've always had friends, but yeah, i have some problems socializing. i didn't know i had autism unil about a year ago, i was diagnosed later in life. i remember in Jr High School thinking that i had no friends. And i remember in high school a few times having to eat in the cafeteria by myself. Generally, though i've always had friends. i do have some social problems resulting from autism, though. Sometimes i say the wrong thing at the wrong time and piss people off. Sometimes i used to talk on and on about myself and dominate the conversation and not let the other person speak. This REALLLY pisses people off, so i've done my best to stop! Other times i have poor space boundries and i've called someone on the phone as many as 3 times in one week. This also makes people really angry. But, since i have autism, i had no idea i was doing anything wrong. When people geet mad and point these things out to me, i do my best to stop doing them. Sometime i don't seem to be able to undrstand the identity of the pderson i;m talking to. Jokes that are appropriate for some people in some settings with some people can be wildly innapropriate in diferent settings with different people. Like, if i told a dirty joke with a bunch of my buddies while drinking on a Saturday night, everyone might crack up. If i told the same joke to a priest or a nun on a Sunday morning it might be shocking or wildly inappropriate. i'm the kind of person who tells the dirty joke to the priest. But, as i become aware of these problems they tend to get better.