I was in my thirties before I realized I was autistic, even though I’m basically a walking checklist of symptoms, likely because I’m a woman who was taught to mask well by two well masking autistic parents. Nobody was weird about my tics (even in school, somehow- I didn’t even notice them until I started playing dnd and 6+ hours of group socializing made them a lot more frequent, but my family and friends said I’ve always done it) and my food sensitivities fit neatly into a vegetarian diet, so everything else got written off as being smart and a bit of a cold fish with ADHD and OCD.

I wish I could explain to the train guy what a weight it’s lifted to see that parts of myself I hadn’t previously been able to describe common to lots of people. It’s the opposite of alienation and it’s really gratifying.