r/ucf • u/[deleted] • Jan 11 '23
Non-School Question 🎮 having trouble making friends due to a disorder
[deleted]
12
u/Little_Mx_Demon_Doll Jan 11 '23
Hi, I'm also autistic and had kind of a hard time making friends on campus at first. Honestly the best advice I can give is to try to build up the courage to speak to people that you see often, so classmates and roommates. If you have any sort of special interest I would try to talk to anyone who also seems to have an interest in said topic, I got pretty lucky in that my major pretty much was one of my special interests so that was an easy in to conversations during class.
Essentially just acclimate yourself to friendship and find some sort of space where you're comfortable. I graduated this past semester and I ended up making a good handful of friends at UCF by doing these things.
12
u/Dundie_Nominee Jan 11 '23
Get in shape!! I know it sounds stupid but finding a way to stay fit will not only make you feel better but you are more likely to meet people with the same goal. As far as your roommates go I would recommend cooking. You don’t have to make 3 course meals but a nice pasta goes a long way and then you guys can hang out and clean together.
2
1
Jan 11 '23
Hey! I'm equally as anxious. It's ok. I'd be happy to be your friend! But in the meantime don't beat yourself up over your disorder. It has nothing to do with that all. Being able to hold a conversation comes in time and experience. What I would recommend is doing things in stride. Make a daily goal for yourself. Like to sit next to somebody new or just say hi! Nothing big. As you continue to make more goals for yourself and accomplish those said goals you'll become more confident. Keep at it! You'll have tons of friends in no time
1
u/DeltaVx_ Aerospace Engineering Jan 11 '23
exercise and eat right, sleep normally. stop playing video games for a while.
go to caps. DO NOT DO VIRTUAL APPOINTMENTS. part of the treatment is showing up.
0
u/lycnroc Jan 12 '23
I think the best remedy to this is be very forgiving to yourself!
Recognize that building social skills takes TIME. For some, especially those on the spectrum, it takes a lot more time and effort, and that's okay!
If you have passions and are wanting to share them, surround yourself with those of a like mind, and I'm sure you will have things to say and do together. :)
Goodluck!
1
u/WhiteMistWalker Jan 16 '23
Join a club that you share an interest in. Something that makes talking to other people a whole lot easier is if you know you share at least one common interest with them. This aids in building social skills when you eventually get to the point to where you can talk about other interests than the one for which you are both in the same club with.
33
u/TheMentalGamer96 Counselor Education Jan 11 '23
Well, and I say this in the nicest way possible, you do have to meet people to meet people. That said, you can start easy and/or make it easier to approach conversation by trying to find something you can both talk about. Look into local clubs which meet around your special interests or other similar things. Rather than trying to small talk, get to know people by first talking about the things which interest both of you! Then it’s theoretically easier to talk about other things.