Week long training course

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As part of my training at work I have to go on a mon-fri training course. It's with a group of people I've never met from various departments, wearing 'professional' clothes (I normally wear a uniform), in a hotel. The idea absolutely fills me with dread. It's just going to be jam packed with opportunities for me to mess up and look like an idiot and get overwhelmed and melt down. I've managed to avoid going on it twice so far but doubt I can dodge it this time and I'm going to have to tell my boss why. I manage work ok, not perfectly but good enough, but a week in a different environment with strangers, doing something unfamiliar is to much. Why is everything so hard? Any ideas how I can avoid this without having to explain myself to my boss? She's not the most approachable or understanding type.

Personally, I like structured days like that. I tend to find them easier than day to day office life, which can be a bit chaotic.
I can play dress up and learn the rules of 'professionalism' with dress and basic scripted language. No one knows each other, so it is basically small talk or work talk. Small talk, I have learned a lot of go-to phrases. I also sit in the back, so, as soon as a break comes, I can hide in the bathroom or the farther table for lunch.
I'll admit, I'd rather face one or two days of that rather than a week, but, going and getting it out of the way kind of seems easier than finding a way out of it at this point.

You say your boss isn't very understanding... does she know you're an aspie? I mean, do you have a formal declaration on file with human resources with specific concessions to help your condition?

I can handle a day (two at a push) of these courses. I've recently been on university modules so I know I can do it, but only one day a week. It's exhausting on every level, I know I'm not going to cope with five days in a row with the same group of people.

I'm awaiting diagnosis, so no, my boss doesn't know I'm an aspie and I can't yet ask for concessions. In some ways she's already informally providing some concessions, such as allowing my rota to be roughly 3 weeks of nights and one week of days. Also, she rarely puts me down for weekday coordinating shifts as I hate them and need several days to recover. We don't talk formally about my issues, we're just a big enough team to allow these concessions to happen if I keep saying what I want.

However, this course is part of the training for my role so I'm not going to be able to avoid it without it being an issue.

I seriously struggle with this kind of thing and have always avoided it wherever possible. I told my last boss (before assessment) that I wouldn't be able to cope with overnight trips, which she said was ok and I could go home every night. She then told me I was needed at a two-day meeting 250 miles away from home.

My current boss is much more understanding and I have been very open with him throughout the diagnosis process. He knows when I don't have stuff like that on my mind I'm very good at my job so he goes along with it.

Last year I decided to bite the bullet and go on 4 day corporate retreat in a tiny resort about 2.5 hours from home (in other words, I had to stay there the whole time). Surprisingly, I had a great time. I was practically the centre of attention since I was engaged at the time and was probably the youngest and only single person there. I even got to present my ideas to the big boss of our organization! Nothing came of it but I know that put me on the radar. It also helped that the facilitator was nothing short of excellent.

I'm also doing a week long course soon but I won't have to worry about the social part: it's an intense and difficult (in a good way) course that I've wanted for a while now.

The more I think about this the less I feel able to do it. I have no idea what I'm going to say to boss :-/

Always pick a seat at the end of a row, near an exit so you can quietly slip out to the loo or to stretch your legs in the hall.

There's only about 20 people on the course and for the majority of it we are divided into 4 groups to do groupwork then presentations. I don't think there will be opportunity to slip out for a few minutes, it's all about participation and presentations. If it was just a day or 2 I could get through it, but not 5 in a row, I just don't have that much social energy.