#..yes

I think he was bullied as a child (honestly think most of the boys were but that’s a different discussion). Specifically I think people he barely knew would come up to him asking ‘We’re best friends, RIGHT?’ Sarcastically and then whatever he answered they’d laugh at him. He learnt that question = people disliking him. Then when he got actual friends they’d ask him that unironically and he couldn’t tell they were using a different tone so he thought they too were bullying him

Also, even though I like the headcanon of autistic Collie I genuinely can not see him getting a diagnosis in the canon universe/anything based in the 70s. Even in a modern AU he’d definitely get a late one, taking everything about him into consideration. On the topic of him being bullied, I do think he made friends. The thing was, they were either friends’ of his siblings/family friends or they were other people who were also bullied. So they didn’t share many interests but more so bonded about being ‘weird’

Furthermore, I think he was a loner at an early age. Thing was: he didn’t want to be a loner, but people didn’t like him, which meant he didn’t hang out with anyone, which meant that people saw him as a loner, which meant that people didn’t hang out with him.