Autistic dates

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Wondering about ideas people have for good autistic-type dates. I tend to find typical face-to-face conversation to be fairly unpleasant (just on the information processing side, not the emotional side). I tend to get headaches and usually at a certain point feel alienated and discombobulated by the whole endeavor. On the other hand I do quite well with indirect-type interaction (that is, when it's in the context of an activity of some kind - like a project, something where you are thinking through or problem-solving things, making something together). I've been able to develop relationships through some of these means in the past (simply based on coincidence and circumstance) but am a bit unsure how to proceed - I'm on the way to starting something up with somebody and I want to make sure that I have some ideas of modes of interaction that we can participate that we can both be comfortable. Thanks!

It would help with making suggestions if you provided some details about fields of interests.

A suggestion would be to find a Place where you feel safe, like your favourite coffee Place
or as in my case, a bar in which you can rent a ps4/play arcade games etc. As long as you feel
that you can be yourself, it could be anywhere

Unfortunately one of my preferred pre-COVID date options was sporting events and concerts, which is often sensory hell for other Aspies because of the crowd and noise factors

Ideal dates are at a distance. Basically everything about NT-type dating is wrong for NDs.

"Ice breaker" type games, just between the two of you, or party games that can be played with two people. I like Madlibs and exquisite corpses, but I'm also way weird. I hope this gives you some ideas, though

Edit: you could also do a crossword puzzle together, or any other kind of puzzle!

- Museums (of any type)
- Nature Preserves/Hiking Trails (I'd avoid bicycling because it's so difficult to talk to each other)
- Photography Safari (you both bring a camera, go for a walk, and take pictures...*not* of each other unless one asks)
- Beach (look for sand dollars, ocean glass, etc.)
- We have a very large, tree-lined cemetery where people and families go for easy exercise and visit "neighbors" (this has pretty much eliminated vandalism, raised money for the cemetery association through donations, and is a safe place for people to be).

I've only had 1 autistic date and it was at a Jungle Brothers gig

Film
Bowling
Walk
Cycle
Paddleboard
Roller/ice skating
Art gallery
Museum
Botanic gardens
Science centre
Workshops
Tai chi
Video games

Naked snogging works for me.

A fayre, museum, art show, gallery, exhibition, farmers market, zoo... Somewhere you can point at something and talk about it if you're stuck for conversation.

Arcade
Movie theater
Amusement park
Zoo
Art museum

Or my ideal date.......going to Spirit Halloween and making fun of the costumes.