Your brain is tuned for depth, precision, and honesty. You notice patterns other people miss and miss social rules that were never explained clearly. Sensory input can feel either overwhelming
or deeply grounding with very little middle ground. You are not antisocial. You just communicate differently and often more directly than the world expects. Navigating daily life can mean translating constantly. You are reading tone, context, facial
expressions, lighting, noise, clothing tags, and invisible expectations. That translation work is exhausting even when things are going well. When you find environments that fit you, you thrive. When they do not, it is not a personal failure. It is a mismatch.

This diagnosis is used when differences in social communication and restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior are present from early development and affect daily functioning. Clinicians
use it to understand support needs and accommodations, not to measure your humanity. A good provider also recognizes the strengths that often come with autism, including focus,
integrity, pattern recognition, and deep curiosity, plus the rare superpower of noticing the one lightbulb that is slightly louder than the others.