I Had Asperger Syndrome. Briefly.

[TrogL]

5. It's difficult to fake being a NT.

While there's some question as to whether I'm full-blown Asperger's there's definitely "a deficit of some sort".

Every report card, psych evaluation, job performance evaluation and whispered comment behind my back comes back exactly the same:

• needs to smile more
  
• needs to socialize better, be more friendly
  
• please work on basic grooming
  
• try to contribute more to the conversation instead of dropping bombshells (a fully-worked out conclusion)
  
• when approaching your favourite obsession, please let somebody else get a word in edgewise
  
• please avoid allowing yourself to get distracted by your obsessions
  

I did have one amazing boss who identified the problem and tried to make a difference. He sat me down and painstakingly taught me the "elevator dance", the "watercooler conversation", the "sports story", the "weather chat" (vs. the 5-min forecast/lecture) and other social scripts to help me get through the day. He tried the "smile more" thing, but eventually told me to knock it off before I hurt myself.