Struggling to make friends, online or offline

I was just about to suggest discord. I actually am in a autism discord server right now that I wouldn't mind linking to you in a dm or something. I found that its the best out of all the servers I've been in for just... understanding me. Plus even though there are different channels, infodumping is allowed in every single one and the mods aren't overly strict in any anxiety inducing way. There are a few rules but I find that it is all fairly easy to follow and the mods are very nice if something is wrong

i struggle with making friends too! i’m autistic and have anxiety as well. i find it’s hard for me to make conversation with people, especially small talk. when i was in middle school, i had a lot of online friends, but i’ve since not had many. i don’t really put myself out there too much these days as i’ve become comfortable having a small circle of people who really understand me, but i 10000% understand feeling alienated when i do put myself out there in a social situation. try not to go into a social setting assuming there’s already something noticeably different about you. there is nothing wrong with you, but when you worry about it, it can make you look unapproachable because a lot of times people who aren’t autistic or don’t have anxiety read the nerves or shyness as being closed off. relaxing and letting everything flow naturally is a learning curve especially with the autism/anxiety combo, but it works :)

I completely feel this. One of the only ways in the past I've been able to make friends was joining open discord servers and groups online and offline like that and even then I'd only feel comfortable in the process if I was one of the first people because it felt almost like they were the new ones entering my space. The problem with that method though is i tend to rely on structure and find that people tend to get bored when I talk about the same thing over and over again like I tend to do so once I did make the friends I'd either lose them once the group disolved or I would miss the subtle signs that they weren't my friend anymore. Some day I hope to find a group that will just stick with me or at least make it more clear if they are no longer my friend

I'm autistic too and i feel the exact same way, there's something so nice about finding people who are also autistic, it feels like someone really gets you when you find the right person.

Same I have very few friends online and irl

honestly I suck at making friends I have one friend and that's my boyfriends

It's hard to connect with people particularly if we have a history of rejection or not fitting in. I'm trying to learn how to find other neurodivergent folx who I can socialize with and see who I want to invest in getting to know better.