User blog comment:Viperinelight50/A Message To All Wikians./@comment-28117441-20160609203742

Robert, I know what it was like to be diganosed on the autism spectrum later in life. I went through the exact same phase as you did after your diagnosis, so I can relate completely. I know what it is like to have this communication "barrier" between you and the people you try to communicate with.

However, despite the anxiety and depression that followed my diagnosis, I refused to let autism take my old identity away. I did not let it change who I was after the diagnosis, so I kept the friends I had before the diagnosis, and continued to form new relationships with ppl in real life.

Just know, you are still the same person as you were before the diagnosis. Autism does not make you "less human" or anything. People who are not autistic can still relate to your personality.

As an autistic myself, I would suggest you reach back out to a few of your "former" friends you have not spoken to in a while. The best treatment for the communication struggles of autism is to directly interact with ppl face to face, and I feel you will be best comfortable reconnecting with your old friends.Having reconnected with some friends I haven't seen since early elementary school, I highly doubt even one of your own friends has forgotten you, even though from your perspective they seem to have moved on.

...The reason I made this comment was because I do not want to see you remain in your current state of depression and social isolation. Simply isolating yourself in your room all day with a computer connected to a few virtual chat room buddies is not socially healthy. Human beings, including us, were made to interact with other people face-to-face, and on a daily basis, else we will eventually lose our minds (or completely forget how to talk to each other). Sending strings of text back and forth is not the most ideal type of communication. The best way to respond to the diagnosis is to continue to interact directly with others, while keeping in mind the areas of communication in which you struggle. A good place to start would be a social group for ppl on the autism spectrum, if you feel you have completely forgotten how to directly interact with people.

I understand that you feel "cared for" on this wiki. However, the people who will care for you the most will be the very friends you think you lost forever. =]