I was diagnosed with autism this year, and seeing this comment hurts a little. I've struggled all my life with this condition. I was bullied severely, everyone thought I was the "weird kid". And it's not just "struggling to make friends", autistic people just don't want to mingle with anyone at all. Teachers picked on me, they always shouted at me for not making eye contact. I rocked back and forth, flapped my hands and i'd hit myself if i was overwhelmed.
Sensory issues are the worst. If I could describe what it's like to be in a room with a normal light, it feels like I'm being stabbed in the eyes with a dagger, i cant even have my curtains open in my house because the light affects me that much.
I was bullied for being a picky eater, if I ate something that I didn't like the texture of, I will not eat for 3 days straight, but what people don't realise is that people who don't have autism can just move on, autistic people can't.
Again, if i get overwhelmed, I will go non verbal, this can last up to 1 hour to a day.
I've researched some statistics and it says that only 1 in 100 people are diagnosed with autism in the UK and there is only 700,000 people with it here, compare that with the general population being 67 million, it's not much and still is a very rare condition. Also, Studies have shown that up to 66% of autistic adults have thought about taking their own life, and an alarming 35% have attempted suicide. Around 1% of people in the UK are autistic, yet up to 15% of people hospitalised after attempting suicide have a diagnosis of autism.