This causes a lot of confusion with many non-autistic people. Timing is important. After the end of a sentance, there is only a few seconds where I'm still ready to hear the next sentance. My communication is also direct and problem oriented, like instead of asking for help or an answer to a question, my natural instinct is to state the problem. With other autistic people, this is usually understood in the light it was intended, but with anyone else, it often comes across as abrupt and even rude.
Emotion is also an important factor.
It is often said that autistic people lack empathy. In summarising, autism is misunderstood by many people, and as a result it in perceived as a handicap. In a sense, it is a handicap, but in my experience, a lot of this is because the world is geared to the way the majority of people think and communicate. Tony's Home Page E-mail me for further information.