I'm open about it, but not proud. People can tell immediately that something's up with me, and I figure it's best if they know what it is rather than coming to their own, probably incorrect, conclusions. Yet I feel really awkward bringing it up myself, so I usually will only tell people if they ask. Although now, I have a service dog whose vest says "Autism Service Dog" on it and has the program's name, "Paws 4 Autism," all over it, so nowadays, pretty much everyone knows. And I view my being on the autism spectrum as simply a fact, not something to be proud, or ashamed, of.
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Yet in my new wildness and freedom I almost welcome the bitterness of alienage. For although nepenthe has calmed me, I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.
-H. P. Lovecraft, "The Outsider"