I have Asperger's syndrome, so I'd like to think I know a bit about autism. My difficulties lie mainly with sensory things, such as loud noises and bright/flashing lights, and face to face communication - I'm much better at expressing myself through email or text for example, rather than through speech. I also have trouble with low mood and anxiety, whether they are related to my AS I'm not sure, but I would guess that they most likely are.
I struggled a lot in school (socially rather than academically), especially prior to my diagnosis (at age 12) when no one knew exactly why I was different. The thing I hated most was PE lessons. I hated all of the screaming and shouting that inevitably occurred in every lesson, never mind the sport itself. Having AS means that I'm not as good at things such as throwing and catching as other people, which meant that nobody wanted me on their team and I felt very isolated. I felt isolated anyway, not having any real friends, but I feel like that was particularly apparent during PE. Occasionally we'd do sports like tennis or badminton, and I enjoyed those. I wasn't very good at them, but at least I knew what was going on
When I got to college though, things seemed to get a lot better. I didn't make any new friends (I did try), and I still felt isolated, however I felt as though the tutors actually understood and acknowledged my needs. I was allowed to have extra time in exams, and I was also able to use word processing software and was given a separate room in which to take my exams (I still have these things at university, thankfully).
I could continue with my experiences, but I'll move on now as I would be here all day otherwise
In terms of what people can do to help people with autism and their families, the first thing I would say is to remember that all people with autism are individuals - it affects each of us differently, so what one person struggles with may not be so much of an issue for another.
Also, please be patient with us! There are many things that can cause problems for people with autism which a lot of people might not think about, especially when talking to someone. For example, misunderstanding jokes/sarcasm, struggling to hear due to background noise (I struggle a lot with this!), and making eye contact. While people who don't have autism may not have problems with these things, it's important to remember that people with autism often do, so try not to get annoyed if we aren't quite understanding what you're saying - it would be greatly appreciated!
That's all I will say for now, if anyone's interested then I've written a fair bit about what it's like having Asperger's on my TSR blog