Dear Eric: I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as an adult at 23 (I’m 27 now) and have been encountering an issue that is really bothering me. A few times, I have been told that I’m rude or antisocial, and sometimes even ungrateful. I always follow up by asking why these people think that, and they’ll respond with things like I don’t say “thank you” enough or I butt into a conversation or it seemed like I didn’t want to talk to them.

I have been going to therapy and talking with other people with ASD and have found that this is something other autistic people run into as well. I hate to use the excuse “I’m autistic and don’t mean to/don’t realize I’m coming off as rude,” but I’m not sure how else to go about it.

Communicating my feelings can be difficult for me, and I’m d

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