I mean it’s a spectrum of course, as all these things are. No two neurodiverse people are neurodiverse in exactly the same way, we fit broad tendencies. But in most cases people can tell, especially if they understand the broad gist of the various spectra. Most of us wear behavioral masks to get through the day but they’re rarely perfect. Sometimes those of us on a spectrum are better at spotting it in each other than typicals, because we’re working overtime to try to notice and process subtle signals but it’s always there to varying degrees. When our masks slip, people tend to look at us like we grew a second head or something equally bizarre. Some people describe it as feeling alien, or fey-touched, or any one of a billion euphemisms and analogies across time and place.

It is what it is, same as it’s always been.