hi- and to tim tex- sorry to hear you're feeling near to depression; i know exactly how you feel...
i had it for years, severly, and thankfully have managed to get rid of it- well, generally speaking.
it IS related to my a.s, and once i withdrew from being around other people so much, and now spend the majority of my time alone, with lower visual input (seething streets, new locations etc)- its been much better.
i NEVER thought it was causal depression- i thought it just came over me, unbidden. but since i had really bad depression each school holidays- after months of being out, near people etc- that was obviously poor(a.s) anaylsis.
i have also stayed away from anti depressants- but there are alternatives. herbs like lemon balm, passiflora, vallerian etc work well.
vitamin b pills- get a good brand like solgar- REALLY help, and are scientifically proven to. you can also try small dietary changes- eg- nuts-
'Consider that five servings of beans, a few portions of cheese or peanut butter, or several handfuls of cashews provide 1,000–2,000 mg of tryptophan, which will work as well as prescription antidepressants.'
http://www.doctoryourself.com/depression.html
i am always really sceptical about such things, but they do work, and recently cudgeled a depressed friend into it (vit b and brazxil nuts each day), and it worked well on him too. exercise is also a good combatant of depression.
HOWEVER- i do think depression is am almost unavoidable and logical aspect of a.s- if you feel different, confused, stressed by the simplest, most normal day to day living- then you will feel depressed at some point.
i find life very dificult- id be a freak if i never felt depressed at having to struggle to do simple things. im baffled that anyone with a.s can have it and never feel depressed- lucky them, but for me so much is dificult, not to mention sometimes seeming like im off my face on drugs and cant think clearly.