It changes from person to person, so what I and others can say here aren’t all valid, especially not mine as I got really lucky with treatment-

For most others, I can’t -obviously- directly tell, but not “suiting” most communities do hit most of us hard. Makes sense for some of us, it is not that most of us mentally can’t comprehend social logic and therefore don’t need friends to be stable, it is that our social logic works different and we need interaction still. Sometimes, it is too different to the point where every aspect just appears alien to us, as NTs are the ones who do weird, unexplained things usually which are what we call (y’know) the “untold rules of communication™”.

For me, it is usually the society that has to cope with my difference, not me- lol. I am different because I am myself; and I like being myself. NT social logic has become some sort of a “second nature” to me, as I am a socially adaptive autistic person (what I call a HFA). I had not experienced anything directly negative from the autism of mine, but that obviously doesn’t suit many here. Not you too, I assume.

I think NTs can understand autism. Yes, they struggle understanding us socially adaptive autistic people even, which I know, doesn’t sound like a good answer for socially “unadaptive” autistic people- but again, I do think it is possible, if proper representations of community can be achieved. I see moderate-severe autistic people here posting in a comprehensible manner whom do many contributions to this community- they are understood here, I think and hope so… It is just a matter of adaptation for them (the NTs). But until then, we have to stick together; since we understand one another despite our huge differences. We understand eachother because we do have this common point- we are all different.

If you need someone to talk to, there are many of us here. Most of us are here for that reason too, lol.