Dating with autism [31/M]

I'm writing to seek advice on some problems I've had with dating.

A bit of background about me. I'm 31, male, living in England and on the autism spectrum. I was diagnosed with Asperger's very early on at 7, due to various issues that led to me being bullied a lot until I left school - to the point where I went to a different sixth form to avoid everyone.

Girls in particular would pick on me by pretending to be romantically interested and coming on to me as a joke, then would laugh in my face (or worse) if I took them seriously. I don't really want to elaborate on this.

This has definitely affected me in adulthood and has made me very distrusting of signals and afraid to approach women. I purposely try not to develop feelings for anyone out of fear of reprisal.

For that reason, online dating has been the only way I've felt comfortable, but my experience using it has been terrible lately.

I also don't know how to talk to women I do match with. It's like if I try to flirt I get labelled a creep and blocked, but if I try to have a normal conversation they just tune out and ghost me after a few messages, or if things go further to the point where we do meet she only ever sees me as a friend. It's like I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.

I am painfully average in looks. I've posted myself online before and got 4/10 ratings on my looks. Combine that with social awkwardness, a lack of photos (selfies are bad) and limited interests (mainly video games) and it's easy to see why I don't get matches at the moment.

Okay... That's half true. I do get matches, but only on one specific app (Okcupid), and it's almost all love scammers or ladies on the other side of the world who purposely falsify their location on the hunt for a Western boyfriend. I don't want a LDR or to be the means to a spousal visa. It says a lot more about how badly Match Group enforce their own rules.

I don't know what to do. I have tried to seek help to explore these issues but trying to get therapy is a no-go here in England. The NHS had a years-long waiting list even pre-COVID and all they've offered me was some crappy self-help CBT course when I self-referred a few months ago. Every private therapist I've contacted meanwhile has been overbooked and isn't seeing new patients.