Growing in the Spectrum, in my case being an Asperger (or having Asperger's Syndrome) was, in general harsh. Not because I knew I was born with it -- on the contrary, I wasn't aware untill I was diagnosed when I was around 20 years old. 

Like I've stated in my previous posts, I suffer from social phobia and had a very hard past and I never knew that my low self-esteem and my other "anormal" behaviors were part of it. It is true that bullying has made it worse. I'd be afraid to look people in the eyes (If I like someone I do look at them in the eyes though), I used to be horrible at small talk and felt very uncomfortable and didn't even know how to keep a conversation going (and I still struggle with this). I never knew why I was  afraid to be around people of my age. Also, all my childhood and now adulthood, I've been attached to my teddy bear. Whenever I hear words or read them, I repeat them in my mind in lots of accents and ways) and I often don't underestand sarcasm or can't perceive people's intentions or "read in between the lines".