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I only started thinking I might be autistic when my partner whose was talking about traits I have in common with his (autistic) best friend. It explains so much of childhood confusion & social difficulties. I used to wonder, but the few autistic friends I had didn't like much touch, and I was very touchy and my 'repetition/obsessiveness' usually takes the form of diving into a topic, or making a sensory pattern under my control: a grounding, iterative process-focus. It wasn't as obvious.

I've always had synaesthesia: in particular emotion/mindstate, sound, flavor, and tactile sensation map to bodily sensations (in muscle, bone, organs, everything). Each experience has a very particular felt sense, including texture, motion (sparkles, rushing, buzzing), flavor, and occasional color. It can be pleasurable, painful, ambiguous, often overwhelming. I named it kinaesthesia. It's a big part of my experience, but difficult to relate to others in ways they understand.

Relevant background includes a B.S. in Physics, semi-professional ballet, and having moved around a lot as a kid.