I like telling people I have AS.

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I think you might consider that when you tell them that you suffer from social anxiety, they think they understand it, but most people have never heard of Aspergers and if they have they probably really do have a reasonable understanding of it. The term "social anxiety" probably evokes an idea in them that you just are not dealing with the ordinary social anxiety that everyone feels. I had the same sort of problem when a doctor diagnosed (incorrectly) my reaction to various scents as being chemically sensitive. If he had said "allergic" people would have understood that it was not in my control, but the reaction I got was, "Well you are just being too sensitive, just quit complaining" Their concept of sensitivity was the same as what people think of when someone gets upset because they are too emotional and have not learned to deal with their emotions and are "too sensitive".

With Aspergers Syndrome, when you explain that it is a form of autism but that you are on the high functioning end of it, they tend to see you as someone who is effectively dealing with a serious handicap, so they are willing to cut you some slack. I don't think that view of it is much more accurate, but it is an easier misconception to live with.

As for the reaction I get when I smell various chemicals, It would appear that is an AS thing in which I have a heightened sensory response and the sensation is causing me a disruptive overload that I have great difficulty ignoring. If it had been explained as AS, I might have gotten a more helpful response.

Of course sometimes the person you are talking to is just an ignorant jerk. You gotta judge these things by the average response.