@Iced: (I spare the quotes)
I could have written almost the same. I live independently, have an own flat (my sanctuary), and some of the events you described happened at an older age in my life (dx at 38, 'not caring too much about what others think of me' at 40). Actually, I do care about certain things, as I indulge more myself in some of my interests since I managed to strengthen my ego somehow in the past year (at least I think so). I guess one never stops learning so it's never too late in that sense. I don't see myself as a misanthrope, though, just don't feel the need to be liked as badly as I did before.
I figured that if I do care about myself and my emotional world, rejecting the idea of "full rational thinking" (aspie-fallacy), I can function better. Autistic people are susceptible to disregard their emotions, then they suffer the consequences during shutdowns, meltdowns, burnouts, bouts of anxiety and depression (and possibly other stuff too, causing warped view of reality and PD-like issues). Humans (including autistics), like all beings, are primarily guided by their emotions. Without them we'd do nothing 24/7, literally.
Last week I met my therapist (one of the psychs who dx'd me) and asked once again why I was dx'd with PDD-NOS. She answered "Because my symptoms are in the mild range, barely reaching the criteria for ASDs." (OK, a little more than that.) We don't know exactly how I would have appeared before them as a child, we only know that now I adopted successfully, and while my struggles are valid, there's no extreme need for help, and nothing serious to worry about. Pretty much nothing, you have to figure out almost everything if you want to further you life...
But somehow it feels better to have a support network, just in case.
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Another non-English speaking - DX'd at age 38
"Aut viam inveniam aut faciam." (Hannibal) - Latin for "I'll either find a way or make one."