Trying to understand if this friend with AS likes me

Page 1 of 1 [ 2 posts ] 

passionatebach
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 8 Nov 2009
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Posts: 447
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa

16 Apr 2024, 1:42 pm

I met a friend (27 yo) in the last couple of years through church in which I am getting mixed signals about. Some of it could be his autism and other issues (anxiety, bipolar?, depression, etc). Does this person like me and is there a friendship there going forward?

What is odd is to most everybody he is this sweet, fun, highly intelligent and socially awkward young man. But as I have gotten to know him, I have seen a different side of his personality.
-He vents to me about his life problems, sometimes angrily
-For awhile he was sharing highly personal and sometimes inappropriate stuff about himself. Along with that he was asking me very personal questions about myself and my autism (which at times made me a little uncomfortable).
-He infodumps his special interest to me both via text and in person
-He always makes space to converse with me, even it is for a few minutes.
-Once he was curled up next to me in the pew and had his head on my shoulder
-He displays a pretty serious flat affect around me at times (which I am surprised that he either hides from others or they don't pick up on it). With the flat affect he comes across at times as disinterested in what I am saying.

On the other hand he comes across as a little brusque at times when we visit. This person has a history of changing churches, jobs, deleting social media and leaving relationships behind on a frequent basis, often at the same time. He has moved on from the church that we attended together, but he still reaches out to me sporadically.

A few weeks ago I attended service at the new church that he now attending. I was there with another friend and when he sees me I get a brusque "Why are you here!?" He calmed down within a couple of minutes and conversed with me. The flat affect was extremely prominent in the conversation. I think he wanted to converse longer, but I had another commitment that I needed to get to. I felt bad that I startled him.

Trying to figure out if this person likes me as a friend and even in its new place, the friendship will continue?
-



utterly absurd
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 7 Feb 2024
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Posts: 298
Location: Wisconsin

16 Apr 2024, 9:55 pm

My views on this.

"He vents to me about his life problems, sometimes angrily"
Yeah, sometimes people need to do this. Some people are bothered by it but personally I only do this to people I feel close to and trust (although I usually ask first if it's okay). You can tell him this bothers you, but you also might just put up with it because he needs it and that's what friends do.

"For awhile he was sharing highly personal and sometimes inappropriate stuff about himself. Along with that he was asking me very personal questions about myself and my autism (which at times made me a little uncomfortable)."
I can see how this would make you uncomfortable. However, I think a lot of us have difficulty knowing when something is inappropriate, especially when it's not clear exactly what position a relationship is in. I hope that if you tell him this makes you uncomfortable, he will listen.

"He infodumps his special interest to me both via text and in person"
Yep. We do this. I have one friend who I strongly suspect is on the spectrum, and most of our conversations are really just alternating monologues. We share a lot of the same interests so we enjoy listening to each other infodump, but there's a lot less back and forth than in NT conversations.
If it bothers you, you should tell him that, but my interpretation of this is that he feels you are a good enough friend that he's comfortable infodumping to you--I know I wouldn't do this to just anyone.

"He always makes space to converse with me, even it is for a few minutes.
Once he was curled up next to me in the pew and had his head on my shoulder"
These are pretty clear signs that he likes you. Putting his head on your shoulder is kind of weird and he probably should've asked you first, but from his perspective, I think this strongly indicates he likes you. (Again, most people wouldn't do that to just anyone.)

"He displays a pretty serious flat affect around me at times (which I am surprised that he either hides from others or they don't pick up on it). With the flat affect he comes across at times as disinterested in what I am saying."
I do this too and it confuses everyone. My guess is he probably masks more around other people but feels comfortable being himself around you. But that's just a guess.

Overall, I think all these indicate that he likes you and is interested in a friendship. As for his issues with deleting social media and leaving relationships, some people do this, but I think it means something that he has continued reaching out to you. And I can see how he would be surprised to see you at a church he didn't think you went to--it doesn't mean anything bad, it was just unexpected, and for most of us the unexpected is one of the worst things that could happen.

I would say if you want this friendship to continue, you should make that clear to him and let him know some of the things he does that bother you; hopefully you can find some compromises. But based on what you say it sounds pretty clear to me that he wants to continue the friendship.
Good luck!


_________________
Diagnosed ASD age 5. Finally understood that age 17.
Have very strong opinions so sorry if I offend anyone--I still respect your opinion.
Feel free to PM me--I like to talk about most things other than sports.