I'm just 2 and a half step away from what people labelled as "profound autism" -- actually profound autism, not the typical autism + intellectual disability/severel global developmental delay or a severe learning disability that many kept ignoring as a seperate factor from autism itself and call it "profound autism".
Like heck yes; I can very, very much relate to the story and remarks around having a violent relationship with one's own body and control over it. And everything that seem to strain like feeling by just existing -- it's basically how I burnout in the first place.
And it's mostly this "I kept feeling too much of my body and getting distracted from it that I need constant self regulation" instead of stories around "social awkwardness", masking and anxiety. Let alone comparisons like "closer to NTs" or some BS most people are socially conditioned to buy BS.
I just don't flap my hands out loud, because I don't need that. But when I do feel like it, I will and could care less of what everyone else thinks.
And what my neurology wants is something very resistive than just flapping; like lifting weights more than my own body can handle, which is frustrating at times.
Or rocking harder to equal or more than the force of rollercoasters.
It doesn't help that I seem to be physically stronger than the average person of the same age, gender, height and weight...
And yeah, I'm closer to the less verbal counterparts. I don't have apraxia or issues with speech itself and producing speech nor am selectively mute; I have issues with language itself and it's thought processes that requires that.
Rather, I'm closer to resembling of those with aphasia -- and everything I can verbally express is an illusion. A product of my sheer pattern recognition abilities.
Kinda more like a manually installed language processor than a natural kind that most kids would stumble upon when they're in elementary, reading and writing.
If I stop being mindful or trying at all, I'd struggle with basics around vocabulary, grammar, semantics, etc. Even at this age.
It's not just your typical Asperger's issue around pragmatics and social contexts.
So yeah, I'm a full blown autistic who can just pass for someone with Aspergers.
If I were just few levels intolerant, few levels lacking compensatory abilities, or few levels more clumsier -- I'd be someone everyone can be mistaken for intellectually disabled.
Possibly emotionally disturbed, too.
My childhood chronic stressors, chronic frustration, chronic anger turned frequent meltdowns do not help.