Do people notice you are different?

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I've been called shy/quiet/introvered, "different," and "quirky." My mom has called me a hermit, but family members have said that I'm "just Nick." A couple years ago, a former coworker told me how he thought I was a bit odd when he first met me. And 3.5 years ago, another coworker told my former boss that she thought I may be "a little autistic." I didn't realize how different I come across to people, though, until I told them about being autistic, at which point I got responses like, "I knew there was something different about you" or "OK, that makes sense." When I mentioned it to one of my sisters, she replied, "I knew that for a while."

I had to vote "They think something is off about me." I can tell that some people do, even though a lot of the time, I think I can keep up a good veneer of "normalcy." I went to Insomnia Cookies once and was chatting with the girl at the cash register about how her roommates are My Little Pony fans, and she sometimes watches the show with them. I said at one point, "My favorite pony is Fluttershy" (the shy, anxious pink and yellow pegasus) and the girl said, "I knew that all along - you act just like her!"

I think some other subtle (and not-so-subtle) hints toward my eccentricity are all the buttons/pins and stuffed animal keychains hanging from my backpack and shoulder bag, and if you look at my side of the room I live in at school, you'd see all kinds of plushies, My Little Pony things, and my Cars 2 and Where the Wild Things Are wall stickers. The good news is that the majority of people who notice these things just think they're "cute," though they might not be so accepting if I were more in-your-face about it.

A lot of times strangers will treat me like I am a child. They think I have a mental disability.

It's best summed up in this exchange I had with a man at the Y one day:

Him: Would you like to join our Special Olympics team?

Me: But I don't have a physical disability. *points to head* I have some... mental stuff though.

Him: I know. That's what I meant.

I've been told I was odd. I did have "friends," I don't even know if they were because we had to work in groups in some classes. When it comes to chit chatting, I don't know if the person means we are friends. Small talk is difficult and exhausting for me. Anyway, I was told in middle school that I was a bit odd. I was also called a "ret*d" by many. Two girls who I thought were my friends, were passing notes about me, discussing whether or not I was ret*d or just shy. I also stared a lot into space and became absorbed in the colors and texture of my classmates' clothing, as well as the colors and length of their hair, which led to people believing I was staring at them.

"What you looking at?" or "Why are you staring at my clothes?" is what I got. I was also diagnosed with a learning disability in math, this made the other students believe I was stupid, even the teachers treated me differently, like if I was a small child. It's really annoying how people use the R word for people who are different. They say we are the ones who are slow, but they have bigger problems with their self-image and the need to be popular.

I was also called "Matilda" in high school, like the girl with telekinesis, just because I was quiet and was only interested in reading books. Even my math teacher laughed a bit when this bully girl called me that name. Seriously, school was hell for me. I'm glad to have graduated.

People think i'm anxious and something is "off" about me. Sometimes I just sit and stare while daydreaming, which people have pointed out.

If people notice anything particularly unusual about me they don't say it. I don't see how they can not notice, though, with the way I feel.

depends on the person.some people(usually men)think Im ''normal''
young females think Im different.

It's hard to know most of the time, as most people don't tell you what they are thinking, so some of it has to go on my interpretation.

I can pass as fairly normal for short periods of time, and with complete strangers. Its all an act though, and exhausting work to keep up. As soon as people get to know me, I get put in the 'smart but a bit strange' category.

One work colleague came out one day and said "I reckon you have Aspergers". He's not normally the most perceptive person, so if he picked it up, then I suspect other people know something is going on, but don't quite know what it is. Or maybe he's just a bit blunter than they are.

Well I don't have Aspergers, so most people conclude I'm either autistic or ret*d. Even though I have gotten a lot further towards HFA. Except when posting to forums - then I somehow come out as cool and smart. Not that I am saying autism is lack of intelligence, but that's how it often appears to others in my case, when I have trouble even forming a verbal sentence.

They just say i'm weird. Little do they know what lurks underneath the half-hearted facade of normalcy.

I don't really know whether people notice.... I have never asked them, and I am probably not there when they gossip about me.

I do know that I have often been called weird as a child. Also by parents of other children.
At high school I was certainly different, people must have seen.

I remember one recent explicit quote from someone (a young man) I had a conversation with. He said: ''You are very different. You seem to be a male soul in a female body.'' Well, that is pretty normal for females with Aspergers, to be more masculine in thinking. But that was after he got to know me. When people get to know me, they may well notice that I have some different wishes/interests in life than most NT people.

Something's 'off' about me, but I honestly don't care anymore. I started to be more 'me' because if I'd act more NT it was as if my true me and this fake mask were in an identity conflict which was troubling me. So now I'm somewhat more 'off' than last college year but much happier.

The options in the pool pretty much all apply to me, except the first one.
Some people have told me I am weird, others have asked me if I had anxiety disorders/autism/another disability, others have said I am immature.

People notice that there is something different about me. It seems that even complete strangers, when they first meet me, can sense that I’m quirky in some way. Maybe it’s because I don’t tend to look at people in the eyes or because my voice is strange.