Dating Difficulty

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I'm 28 and I've never had a girlfriend. I would like to be in a long-term relationship, or at least a successful dating relationship; however, I am almost entirely unable to flirt. I have great difficulty picking up on body language and facial expressions, other than the really obvious ones. Even a fling would be nice – any sort of physical or emotional intimacy would be welcome. It's possible that I've missed very obvious social cues due to misunderstandings – There has been more than one occasion where a woman has appeared to be hitting on me, but it seemed so over-the-top that I thought she was mocking me (I was bullied relentlessly throughout elementary and Jr. high school, and this was a favorite tactic of female bullies, who would draw me into a place of supposed intimacy, only to publicly humiliate me). I tried to see a doctor about these issues a few years ago, but it was during a time when it was "cool" to have Asperger Syndrome, so medical professionals turned everyone away, assuming that they were riding a trend. I'm extremely lonely.

Two little suggestions:

Put in an online dating profile that you are a straightforward, bluntly honest sort of person who is no good at reading between the lines, and so when you go on a date, they won't be surprised when you ask them up front questions and such.

Even if you don't know how to flirt, make sure you smile. If you don't look like you are at least happy or having some fun (like if you have male bitchy resting face), you will be giving off the wrong signals to someone who does like to read body language.

If you live in Los Angeles, there must be some organizations for autistic people around. Why don't you try to meet someone there? Dating an NT woman would probably be difficult.