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Are you "noticeably autistic"?

I think most people must notice my oddness especially in unstructured social interaction, but hey add my work status and no, people think I am fine, funny etc. So I think a lot of this is about conventions and associations of certain labels. I mostly only get the problematically weird status where my past achievementsaren't known, for example at the hospital I initially got treated like my partner was my carer after I noted that I am somewhat autistic, but then a further conversation revealed my career and that I own a house etc so hey, not so stupid after all.

We are uneven, as I often put it. So is everyone, but many minority types of unevenness get a bad rep or become a diagnosis to be helped with, rather than a different way to be. Neurotypical peeps don't realise how they could be seen as staid and conventional, afraid of new ideas, stuck inside the box. Diagnosed with problems coming up with innovative ideas. It's a difference, not in itself necessarily problematic, I hear them say. Same here.
 
Kind of? At first glance, I probably look like the average woman. But in social situations the autism shows, especially when I'm tired or overwhelmed. I can mask to an extent, but it's the little gestures and facial expressions that give it away. I think other women pick up on it more than men.
 
I don't really know if people notice or not. Probably not with superficial interactions at the supermarket, for example, but once people get to know me, they probably do. It's not that I'm weird, it's more that I'm not able to socialise in the same way as they do, and that sets me apart. I'm sure people must notice that, but there isn't much autism awareness in the country where I live, so autism probably doesn't occur to most people. They might think I'm quiet, shy or a bit aloof, because I'm not much of a talker and don't react to social cues - I'm not aware of them until everyone starts laughing, or says "awww" or something like that.

Those who have noticed and then commented on it have been people in the medical profession or educators used to working with neurodiverse children//adults. Such a person one day, out of the blue, said "What are you going to do about the Asperger's" and I was gobsmacked, because I hadn't told her. I asked her who told her about it, and she said no one - she just knew it.
 
HeroOfHyrule said:
Is it apparent to other people that you have autism, or less specifically something "wrong" with you?

I can tell that other people know something is "wrong" with me because they react to me like they think I'm odd, and sometimes people avoid interacting with me due to it. I also get stared at sometimes.

People have treated me like this my whole life and it can frustrate me. I usually don't know why people are reacting like that since I try to act "normal", so it makes me self conscious and want to avoid interacting with others.
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People have often remarked on how I am weird. I don't think people generally like me once they get to know me.
 
logos said:
How do you deal with the sense of vulnerability that comes from knowing how easy it is for others to take advantage of us due to how our brain is wired.
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Once you learn how to "game the system," the playing field becomes more favorable. ;)
 
No. I learned to mask well, very early, and I've worked frontside at a bookshop for a number of years, so I people surprisingly well.

However, hit on a subject I know something about or like and I speak only in information dumps. I talk fast and hit hard with huge bricks of data.

Being a major introvert, I tend to avoid people outside of requisite interactions (e.g. work). I read and usually have my headphones in. Most people just assume I'm either stuck up or shy.
 
No. Besides the guy who made the diagnosis - and I can't read minds here, but even he may not have noticed at first - I have not had it pointed out to me from anyone else.

I've been called many things besides that, which would take a list I'm not in the mood to post right now. Yes, some of those things I've been called were meant to be insulting, but those are the sorts of people I avoid like the plague.
 
HeroOfHyrule said:
Is it apparent to other people that you have autism, or less specifically something "wrong" with you?

I can tell that other people know something is "wrong" with me because they react to me like they think I'm odd, and sometimes people avoid interacting with me due to it. I also get stared at sometimes.

People have treated me like this my whole life and it can frustrate me. I usually don't know why people are reacting like that since I try to act "normal", so it makes me self conscious and want to avoid interacting with others.
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Yes, very much so.

I think there are at least two reasons, no one tells me they think I'm autistic:
1- no one I know or essentially no one in my corner of the world knows what autism is.
2- If they did think I was autistic, they would be too kind to tell me so.

But, most definitely, everyone thinks I'm very odd, eccentric, wierd, or something is off.
 
Depending on the situation
Though I do sense that most of the time they know something is off about me
I try to hide it as best as I can because most of the time people take advantage of it
 
When I revealed my diagnosis this year to my sister, she wasn't surprised. Neither was her daughter. They always "knew." Neither are in the mental health field, so I guess they knew more about autism than most people. Nevertheless, signs will be picked up in interaction to anyone who actually knows about high-end autism and its managerie of traits. Those who think autism is only the stereotypes they've seen in movies and TV won't think "autistic" when they interact with me, but if they interact long enough or get to know me, they'll think I'm "different," eccentric, very intelligent, forward, or too analytical, too serious, rather terse at times, etc.
 
This is hard to answer for me. I do know l attract types , like l seem to be a bipolar magnet, l have a lot of those around and we usually get along well. I also do well with OCD people which is another surprise. And people on the spectrum- about 75% of them - l get along with. So maybe those types sense something about me? But myself, l think l mask incredibly well. But my stims can fly out of nowhere. But being a ballet dancer, l can usually look graceful as l slap my thighs or stand up and down on my toes.

Don't know really what people think, because l am too busy being myself and l don't have time for preconceived ideas. In fact l am so use to people thinking all kinds of strange things about me, l have given up. My face is a little bit to expressive, so l toned that down. Maybe l wear my emotions too much, so l have worked on being a poker face, thanks Lady Gaga.
 
It's noticeable that people treat me differently if they see me in public. I'm not that sure but it's probably where I live. The American South isn't known for tolerance for the disabled.
 
Shaddock said:
no, even my therapist (but he has no clue of autism) and other people were convinced "that I can not have autism." and most people say to me when I say that I have autism, that I don´t look like that and that they wouldn´t knew it, when I not said it.

only when I face situations I don´t knew so far or when I´m overstrained in conversations, then I feel maybe weird to people, because I struggle to cope with the situation, where others don´t have problems.

or when relationships get deep, then I struggle, but I work on it.

most of my social problems that come from autism are "hidden", people only realize/have to do with them, when someone are close to me usually. they are not obvious, except a few situations where I overshared and scandalized.
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It is amazing that it is 2022 and still there are therapists who don't even think of autism when the symptoms show up. Or they have a rigid definition you have to fit, even though it can be displayed in variable ways. There are even people who still deny that a female CAN be autistic.

Granted, it was 10-40 years ago but I've had two psychologists and three therapists and the only one who figured it out was a guy who was older than I was.
 
The short answer for me (according to others) is; yes.

Before awareness of autistic traits became more widely known, I was found to be odd, strange, 'anti-social', 'painfully shy' & 'highly strung'...
 
It is hard for me to know how others perceive me. I was bullied growing up so they knew something was different about me. If I'm stimming it might draw attention so maybe then. I think people might find me introverted unless they are discussing a topic I'm interested in.
 
rach3rd said:
It is hard for me to know how others perceive me. I was bullied growing up so they knew something was different about me. If I'm stimming it might draw attention so maybe then. I think people might find me introverted unless they are discussing a topic I'm interested in.
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Yes, I was bullied a lot as a child. It seems that’s something that usually comes with the experience when people see you as “weird” or “different.”
 
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