I have high-functioning autism, and this means that I usually look normal on the outside. But I’m here to tell you that I am fundamentally different on the inside. By the time I hit adulthood, I learned to hide my autism to avoid unintentionally upsetting or insulting neurotypical people (our word for non-autistic). If I was standing next to you waiting for an elevator, I would make small talk and smile and you wouldn’t know I’m autistic.