this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2026
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Autism
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Damn, yeah being late diagnosed really puts a different lens on all the fun I had with dating.
✅ Impossible to flirt with because I don't understand indirect communication. I also don't know how to flirt.
✅ Total inability to play the games of dating (not the negative ones but the "dance" of courtship, I guess?"
✅ Rejection sensitivity making it impossible to know if someone likes me so I just assume no one is interested unless they flat out tell me in so many words and BOY HOWDY did that lead to some awkward situations
✅ People felt super rejected because people "make time for those they care about" whereas my lack of executive function means they probably are getting all my free time but it doesn't look like that to an NT.
Both fortunately and unfortunately this manifested as manic Pixie dream girl energy so I did have access to dating. I didn't think I would have been able to find a partner without internet dating though.
Funny anecdote: I once went on a first (and last lmao) date where we watched 500 Days of Summer in theater and that's probably one of the worst 1st date movies ever 😬. But it was definitely a massive eye opener to the fact that people fall in love with an idea sometimes and that's awful .