Yes. I knew a few lightly autistic people who also aren't exceptionally good at anything.

Some are better than average programmers or something. But their autism is a greater burden than their increased skills are a help in their life.

It's not that they just sit at home all day, avoiding people and creating awesome stuff en masse. Most of the suffer from their inability to interact socially.

But that burden can be lightened. I wonder why local groups along the lines of 'Autistic Anonymous' don't exist, or even if they do, aren't widespread enough as there is a significant minority of the population who are autistic. I'm talking about those who are in the 'higher' spectrum of course, though by no means the group should turn into genius club or something. I agree, autistic people can also be average-skilled, but one thing they all have in common is the constant struggle to fit in socially, be it their lack of communication skills or weird personality etc.

I know that having a meet up group for autistic people sound contradictory, but as long as it creates a sense of safeness* where people are free to share their experiences, even if they struggle badly doing so, it would still be incredibly comforting. Sharing stories and tips may or may not be helpful, but at the very least, nobody should feel alone in their struggle.

*e.g. those who are too intimidated to be physically there can listen/communicate via Skype etc. Naturally the group leader would have to be someone with expertise in autism or well-experienced in adjusting to society socially

In The Netherlands there is a group http://ietsdrinken.nl (Let's have a drink) that organises meetings in several cities. It is organized by and for people with autism. It now exists for about 5 years and is quite succesfull. Every city has its own wednesday evening each month, so people know the routine.

Autistic-spectrum people tend to prefer finding and interacting with people over the Internet - personally, much of my support network is a couple hundred miles away from me, and I get to see some of them only a couple of times a year. It works out - I also get as much irl socialisation as I desire (I even organise an unrelated monthly social event).

I agree, fortunately nearly everyone now socialises on the internet (Facebook etc) so hanging out in forums is no longer a strange and sad thing. But I'd argue that it's still not enough, even if we prefer it (I'm also mildly autistic). I found it the hard way when I couldn't express the most basic thoughts in a group project (for example) and it really affected my self-esteem and my work, and I've no doubt that there are many stories like that. I think it's important to acknowledge the fact that we also live in the real world, and that we need to try and learn how to 'blend' in the best we could without sacrificing our own 'quirkiness'. Otherwise our options range from hermit to (if you're lucky) lone genius! And learning how to blend in is no mean feat, so having peer support throughout that journey as I suggested earlier could be really helpful.

That's a really good idea.

We have a MeetUp group in my area: http://www.meetup.com/NeurodiversityNetwork/

I don't think that's really fair. The perception is that raising an autistic kid or being autistic yourself is basically a nightmare and they're trying to find something not depressing to say.