How do you explain having autism?

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On another side note from my previous posts, I usually don't explain it or tell new people that come along. I may drop some hints however and see if the other person can figure it out from there. I might say "I am more direct and honest," which of course gets them thinking "OK, this guy is different" rather than "OK, this guy is definitely mentally ill/diseased"

I explain it as having some kind of superhuman ability over the people that call themselves... "normal".

I've only recently started to think of myself as actually being autistic (I tend to use that term rather than aspergers for some reason, I'll see what I get diagnosed with when the time comes) so I'm sure how I explain it will get changed as I find a better way to express it.

I've explained it like this in the past to a colleague who asked about it:
"I have some issues with social interaction, such as knowing when to end conversations, how to behave when talking to people, reading people's emotions or social cues and feeling empathy.
My senses work differently to most people; some are very heightened so I react in ways which may seen weird to you. I find certain sensory stimulations very soothing and others quite distressing or painful.
I have barely any imagination, so my interests, which I'm quite obsessive about, are things like history and the military.
Sometimes I do this with my hands (showing what I do) when I'm excited or this when I'm anxious.
All this means I experience things differently than most people and some things which you wouldn't worry about make me very stressed out and anxious."