Is it common for aspies to NOT eat in public?

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I detest eating in public. hate. it.

Unless I'm with family or friends, I feel awkward when I eat in public, and I think a big part of it is just because I feel like I stand out more when I'm not "blending in" with a group of people. I can only find "security in numbers" when I'm with people I know and trust, otherwise I feel vulnerable and subject to scrutiny. When it comes to eating in private, I usually prefer to eat in the comfort of my own room, by myself. I'm somewhat of a messy eater, and while I'm always trying to improve, I'm still quite prone to spilling things on my shirt/lap, and if it involves bits of solid food, then sometimes I'll eat them even though it makes me look really weird. Hell, I've even eaten things that have fallen on the floor, because despite my "germaphobia" (which is actually much more complicated than that...) I put a great amount of faith in my immune system, much moreso than other people's immune systems.

I will eat anywhere. Food is food wherever you chomp down on it. I do like food.

this topic is aimed at aspies but it also affects those of us eslewhere on the spectrum.

from the earliest age used to eat on own in bedroom every time until late last year when was sectioned in the intelectual disability assessment & treatment hospital, one of the things they worked on was to remove this routine had relied on.
it was absolute hell, was taken off the specialist liquid feed had been prescribed for many years as to try and force self to eat-which didnt work.
was told am not allowed to bring food to bedroom and have got to eat with everyone else in the dining area,this was a noisy dining area that had people kicking off every meal;usualy someone trying to knock another patient out because they didnt get what they want or screaming in our faces,plus the nearby huge tv on full blast for the hard of hearing patients-it took the advocate,family and intelectual disability team of mine to complain to get them to understand how they also had hearing sensitive patients to cater for as well.

it was two months before began eating properly,and even then that was only bits of meals because the food was so sht; worse than typical hospital food.
just eating a crumb outside of bedroom was one of the most difficult things have ever had to experience.

felt in an absolute hell for the extreme anxiety they caused around changing this routine but am now able to eat around other people-apart from at parents house because
had spent entire life eating in bedroom there.

Am able to eat in public, but I hate it.
Because of my poor motor skills i am a messy eater and knock things over.

It has nothing to do with AS IMO. It's just a personality trait, plain and simple,
Me and my father both have Asperger's, I am also shy at times but both of us have never had problems eating in front of others.
I have heard a lot of people say they don't like or absolutely eating in front of others and they were all NTs (mostly females) and few of them were shy.
I don't even understand why people don't like doing that. I don't get what's wrong with it.
Not every characteristics you have are related to Asperger's. People with AS have a personality and personality traits as well, you know

I don't often get to dine out to restaurants much because I don't have many people to go with, and I have never dined alone before. Maybe when I'm older, but where I come from, youngsters always seem to get looked upon whenever we're alone (except for just walking around shopping centers and the shops).

But when I do dine, I don't get that anxious. I can't always relax properly if there's somebody with a screamy baby on the table next to me. I start to wolf my food down because my brain can't filter out unwanted noise that good, so I just sit there focusing too much on this brat and can't enjoy my meal (I don't mean anything harsh, I just don't like the sound of noisy miserable children under 5, it's nothing personal).
Also I can't eat when the restaurant is crowded and the only seats left are ones on the end of a table where all other people are sitting whom I don't know. But I don't many think people like eating at the same table as a bunch of strangers, especially if there are a rowdy youngsters.

Otherwise, I don't mind eating in public.

No, I typically enjoy eating out (no sexual connotations intended).

When I was at High School I used to avoid the cafeteria due to bullying, and would sit in the corridors to eat my packed lunch with my one friend. But the janitors would keep coming and scolding us and telling us to move on. I wish they had been more sympathetic.

Even if not trying to hide from bullies, I generally prefer to be alone when eating. I prefer to be alone most of the time. Later, when I was moved to a different school where I was not bullied in the cafeteria, I still found it frightening to eat in the busy cafeteria. It was too big and noisy, and there were too many people. So I still preferred to eat my food in a classroom or empty corridor.

I don't mind eating in public. The ONLY time I hate eating in public is when I come across a food item that I want to spit out. I have sensitivities to texture and taste, so I am known to spit out my food a lot. It's a bit embarrassing to spit out food in public!

I don't mind eating in public, provided that the place is comfortable. The sad truth is that I avoid most places like the plague because I'm a miserable bastard, not because I have Asperger's

Things that deter me from eateries:

- Loud noises. Kids. Music.
- Excessive wait times and queues. I'm in there because I'm hungry.
- Not meeting my standards. It amazes me how many places can't cook a steak or make a decent pot of tea.
- Not having good company or access to WIFI. I can do without one, as long as I have the other.
(Good company is someone who provides good conversation while waiting, and then shuts the F up while we eat)

That being said, while eating alone doesn't bother me, I do enjoy cooking and sharing a meal with a small group, and I LOVE IT if someone takes the time to cook for me.

If I can presume to be even slightly self aware, I think the only impact my Asperger's has on eating out is the irrational anger I feel when a place I frequent changes their menu. This change can be just aesthetic, ie same items just different layout, and I'll not return to that particular place for at least a couple of weeks. I'm the same when shopping - if a store I frequent one day decides to move items around, there's a very childish part of me that feels like I am personally being victimised by the store management, even if there's a good and painfully obvious reason for their reorganisation.

I don't really mind eating in public, as long as I am with people I like and trust.

I hate to eat alone in public. To do it I have to ignore everyone and pretend they don't exist or I become extremely self-conscious.

At work I avoid the cafeteria and find it difficult to go to team meals and victory dinners.

I avoided the cafeteria in college, high school and middle school as well.

I had some pretty bad bullying experiences in the cafeteria in middles school, including having black pepper blown in my eyes and juice poured on my trousers. Also the fluorescent lights had a sickly color cast and made a nasty buzzing sound that was nauseating.

I suppose that is where my reluctance to eat in public began. I still feel very uncomfortable walking alone to sit at a table in the company cafeteria. I prefer to eat at my desk in the company of my web browser.