I’ve heard a lot of people say The UK is some kind of paradise for autistic people and whilst it probably is quite good when it comes to services and scientific research and awareness, my experience has been the complete opposite. I live in rural Cambridgeshire in the South of England and I feel like an alien. I really struggle with the thousands of unwritten social rules, high emphasis on conformity and cold attitudes in this country and I feel like there’s so much pressure to mask. Sometimes I feel like my autism is just seen as a label to distinguish me from the normal people, if that makes sense. I get shamed for not understanding the strict social rules but then at the same time, no-one also seems to respect my boundaries. I’ve been bullied all my life for having autism and I feel like no-one cares and everyone just says it’s “banter” when some of this stuff is deeply hurtful and I’ve never really felt like I fit in anywhere or found any kind of community in this country.…