I was diagnosed as autistic at 48. Like you, it caused me problems as a younger person, particularly in dealing with other people. Is it a disability for me? Fuck no! It provides me my focus, it allows me to be content with my own company. It helps me deal with truth and logic as it is.

I do have to note, your description of the "low functioning autsitic guy....I worked in group homes for years. I had one respident, we'll call him P. He was non-verbal, and what they called profoundly autistic. He was almost 30 and wore a diaper. He was the smartest person in every room of that house! No joke. In the time I was there, he learned to use the washroom, dress himself, set the table and use his words to ask for what he wanted. Prior to this he simply had echolalia (he repeated stuff he heard). He couldn't tell us then, but he knew and absorbed absolutely everything that was going on!