u/LowAppropriate3334

السلام عليكم،بلا زحمة تعرفون طبيب غدد صماء زين؟ وياريت ببغداد،ضروري محتاجيه،وياريت فعلا عن تجربة ومو ترويج او شي لان الحالة معقدة وتحتاج واحد يفتهم صحيح

I am not neurodivergent . I ​have a friend; we’ve been in the same school for years, but we only became close in the last few years (I don’t even remember how). She was the one who reached out first, since I’m actually quite introverted—I don’t really step out of my social circle or think about making new friends. We have a good relationship. A year ago, she told me she is on the autism spectrum and talked to me about her childhood experiences with it. After she told me, my way of treating her didn’t change, and it still hasn't changed.

However, after seeing a lot of content about autism on social media—where people talk about their struggles with past friendships and how others used to hurt them—I started second-guessing myself. Could I be hurting her without realizing it? Generally, I’m a polite person who respects people's privacy; I treat kind people with kindness (though I do stand up to those who intentionally try to hurt me). I’m also not the type to always interpret others' actions negatively; instead, I interpret them based on the person’s character and intentions.

Is there anything I should keep in mind? If you were in a relationship, what would you want to clarify to the other person?

She and I don’t share common interests, but I love her very much. I feel there’s something deeper than just shared hobbies connecting us. According to her, she loves me dearly and says I am her first true friend. Honestly, I’m afraid of ruining things.

Sometimes I feel that my responses to her specifically are not long enough or might seem dry, no matter how hard I try. The problem is that I genuinely enjoy listening to her talk, even if the topic isn’t one of my hobbies. But I worry that my expressions and responses reflect a lack of interest. With other people, I feel I can sometimes adopt a certain style to show I'm engaged, but with her, I feel like I can't—I feel like doing so would present a fake personality that doesn't reflect who I really am. There were only a few topics where I could talk at length because they fell within my area of knowledge and interests.

I have told her many times that I kinda suck with replaying and reactions ,but I am afraid she will compare my behavior with her and my behavior with the others and think I am pushing her away​​​​

​​First of all, I apologize for my ignorance, but I have a question.

​Do people with autism easily understand body language, speech, and the hidden nuances behind people's intentions? I often come across posts by autistic individuals saying how quickly they grasp people's intentions, lies, and the like, even though I thought the opposite was true for autism.

​The reason for my question is that I don’t believe I am on the autism spectrum; however, these posts made me pause. Since the beginning of my life—something I was born with, so to speak—I have been able to perceive those around me at a rate far above average. I don’t have a manual for learning body language that I apply in real life; rather, I see people's intentions, feelings, and every small detail that is supposed to be hidden as something very obvious and automatic. It’s not that I take time to think or analyze; it’s like seeing that a person with black hair has black hair. I’ve been like this since I was a child, seeing through them in that same way. I didn't realize I was perceiving them with such depth; I simply thought they were that exposed. Later, I realized that I am the one who sees 'too much' rather than them being exposed to everyone.

​ In the end​​, I apologize for my ignorance and my question; I do not mean anything offensive. It is simply a question due to my lack of knowledge. Usually, I read research papers on topics I’m curious about, but I am currently in a period where wasting time would negatively affect me, so I asked my question here. Also, I am planning to see a psychiatrist in a few months regarding some psychological issues, so I wanted to clarify this to know if it’s something I should take into account for my appointment and in choosing a therapist​"