Life as a High School Student with Aspergers!! !

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I didn't go to prom either. In fact, when I refused to participate in a school fundraising project, I was told if I didn't I couldn't go to the prom to which I responded "I'm not going anyway."

Prom isn't just a high school thing. The school I went to for 8th grade had an 8th grade prom. I caught alot of nonsense from everyone, including a couple of teachers and the principal, because I wasn't going to the 8th grade prom. One girl tried to get me to meet her at the prom and be her date, even though it was known she already had a date.

I got picked on in high school too for not going to the prom. My high school also had alot of other school dances as well and I got picked on for not going to them too. In fact, a girl in that school also once tried to get me to meet her at a school dance and be her date even though it was no secret at that school she had a steady boyfriend.

I think it's kind of cool the concept of the anti-prom has started to get popular. For those who don't know, an anti-prom is alternative event to a school prom. In some cases, it may be another dance held independently of the school, or something else altogether. The sentiments behind alot of anti-proms are expressed here, such as outrageous costs and excesses, the fact they do nothing more than put the popular kids, jocks, etc, on a higher artificial pedastal than they are already on, how they just don't represent what the mainstream student population wants, or to provide an event where the disenfranchised students can enjoy themselves, free of harassment. I probably wouldn't have gone to one of those either, but at least some are fighting back.

First, thanks for all the replies, keep on sending them!
I think college can be easy or difficult for people with aspergers, becuase it all depends on just how much you want to socialize and make friends. From my reasearch, I did for my book, I discovered that many people with Aspergers who were home schooled for high school have social skills issues in college that most people with aspergers would have had in high school, this I think is because of the lack of real world socialization they are exposed to. As for hints on how to deal with college, I personally find that when it is a nice day out, if I get to school 30+ minutes early, I can talk to people sitting outside on the benches and make what my grandmother always called "Cocktail Chatter" very easily, people tend to like talking about these lite and pleasant topics when the are sitting and have nothing better to pass the time with.

I know what you mean... I kept saying that Prom was a waste of time. I even got offers from 4 women who already had boyfriends. When I called them out on their BS, they started saying stuff like "Why don't you just go on your own? Everyone is doing it!" Thing is, I know that very few people, if any, were going on their own as well... Oh, and the "night to remember"? That tagline is pure BS. Don't believe it. Most insecure people go to the prom because it's a fairly established urban legend that you can get laid at the prom (also pure fabrication; anyone who gets laid at the prom is likely to have gotten laid whether he went or not...)

I didn't get as much flak for not attending other school dances in HS (although there was an 8th-grade graduation party/dance where I mostly sat in the corner eating food all the time...) I did end up going to one HS dance, but that was only because they had a room with an X-box set up, so I just sat there playing Halo 2 the entire night... Also, the HS graduation party featured a laser-tag arena, which was sweet...

Bottom line is: have some kind of entertainment (video games, laser tag, hell even a pool table or ping-pong table), or I wont go...

I was never vocal about my views or it being a waste of time, I often said I just wasn't interested. The farthest I ever went in my criticism was not of the activities or the participants, but of my right to choose how I spend my time. I was often criticized for having the view that I was free do spend my time my way, which never made any sense to me.

I didn't want to go alone, plus I didn't have a girlfriend or even a single date in high school, so my going would have been a waste of time. The fact I also didn't like most of the people I went to high school with didn't give me an incentive to go either. I didn't like being around those people in school, why would I like being around them on my own time?

I got along pretty well in high school. I had a lot more problems in elementary and middle school then I did in high school. I think after 7-8 years of trial and error I pretty much figured out what I needed to do to fit in. I guess looking back on things I wasn't really being myself but I did what I had to survive and I actually had a great time junior and senior years. Still I didn't go to the prom, basically because it seemed like a big waste of money and I didn't have anyone to go with anyway.

College was more difficult. My first year I was stuck with some people who weren't very accommodating for me. I ended up moving to another dorm which was almost total isolation. I can't say I minded though. Then I transfered and after some time to adjust I had a great time senior year.

I have always found that I need a lot of time in an environment to thrive in it. If I am around the same people for 2-3 years I start to figure them out and find a niche to fit in. That is why I don't think frequent change is a good idea for me.

I did not go to prom even though I did have a girl friend. We both thought it was a waste of time and money. We did go out on a date prom night, but did not go to prom. We did however go to the after-prom parties at people houses.

Junior high was actually much more difficult, due to the presence of some very large and aggressive bullies. High school was actually one of the easiest times of my life, especially my senior year.

College was a lonely experience. I didn't fit in socially or ideologically with most of the students.