I am not autistic. My husband and both my young adult sons are diagnosed with autism. My husband is currently in a psychiatric hospital awaiting a placement to supported accommodation. Autism is not his main 'problem', but mental health issues may occur quite frequently with ASD. My eldest son is in supported living after three years in a residential setting. My youngest son lives with me, and needs quite a low arousal, predictable environment. My husband and sons are not in paid employment, although my sons are working towards this.
I used to think that we were a neurodiverse family, but over the years, I realise that I am probably a lot more neurotypical than the rest of my immediate family. I have to adapt my communication style quite significantly with all my family members. For example, my youngest has little understanding of the pragmatics of conversation. He does not understand turn taking (although we do have a signal to say 'stop talking please'). He is intelligent and has a fantastic ability to absorb facts. His interests are cars, architecture and, more recently, trains. I listen to his recount of the facts and ask questions, but conversation in the NT style is difficult. He asks me what to say in telephone enquiries and on texts.
He stopped attending school at 13 due to profound anxiety, and his social circle does not exist. I am trying to find ways to improve this, but wonder if my distress over the fact that he has no friends arises from my NT perspective of how things should be for a 21 year old.
My eldest son is very quiet, but can engage in social interaction a little better than his brother. He cannot read facial expressions and had prosopagnosia as a child. I think he still has this because he often does not recognise people until they speak. He is extremely vulnerable and, unfortunately, has been the victim of 'mate' crime several times in the pass. He loves cats and this is probably where his vocation will lie.
My husband needs a lot of care at the moment. We have not lived together for eight years because it was just too problematic. However, we are very much married, and I will continue to love and support him, as I will love and support my sons.
There are times when I really long for a chat, for the give and take of NT conversation, for the ability to have a laugh at the absurdity of life. It is not the case that my family members have no sense of humour, they do, and we have fun. However, there are marked differences between my perspective and understanding of the world, and the perspectives and understandings that my closest family members seem to have. It is a problem of double empathy. I do, however, have a neurotypical sister who I am in close contact with, and this helps enormously.
So, I would say I am neurotypical. I fit in well with the NT world. I work, I have no fundamental problems in terms of keeping myself safe and no issues with life skills, I can communicate well and so on. I am probably a little introverted and asocial, and I crave sensory stimulation (certain smells, textures, colours and so on) but nevertheless I am not autistic.