But knowing she has Asperger’s has now helped explain why she also suffered from anxiety around strangers and struggled with eye contact – making her feel ‘different’ and ‘an outsider’ throughout her childhood.
She added: ‘It’s a condition that I have to live with and work through, but I feel more relaxed about myself. People will have a greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do. (…)
People with Asperger’s often struggle to understand conversation and have difficulty comprehending gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice.
Initiating and sustaining social relationships can be tricky, and it can sometimes lead to an intense, sometimes obsessive, interest in a hobby or collecting. Mark Lever, of The National Autistic Society, said public understanding of Asperger’s can make a ‘huge difference’.
