Autism not hidden for me.

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I spend most of my childhood life screaming, running about madly and breaking things. The only times I ever calmed down was when someone gave me a science or maths textbook or some maths problems to solve. I remember being constantly agitated and on high alert. I had many health problems too as a kid and I would often hit doctors when they tried to examine me. My parents tried to enforce physical contact on me but eventually they found that the only type of physical contact I wanted was deep pressure (very tight hugs mostly).

Andrejake - I am now diagnosed High Functioning Autism not Asperger's, although my neurologist thinks I am on the lower end of "High Functioning", as in Moderate-High Functioning.

I walk funny, I have my mouth open all the time (because due to a defect inside my nose, I cannot breathe through my nose) and I am often stimming while walking (I stim in public a lot as well as at home).

I went to uni today and had an aggressive meltdown again as the lecturer had to cancel the lecture due to not enough space for students to sit in. My support worker eventually calmed me down. But then, the lecturer cleared everyone out except me and the lecturer sat down and said "I can give you a summary of the lecture alone if you want, seeing as everyone else had to go". I said yes and she basically taught me one to one. It was really good.

So my life is not all bad. But I struggle daily. My support worker has taught me deep breathing techniques and is trying mindfulness and other techiques for reducing meltdowns. Work in progress.

While what rapidroy said is true, I can hide mine pretty much completely all the time now. When I disclosed it a couple weeks ago, the person was surprised. My symptoms are extremely mild & subtle. I'd likely have to point them out to any of you, even. Things like the gait to my step, prosody of my voice, my vocabulary & articulate speech, occasional eye contact avoidance etc. But I no longer have (IMO) glaringly obvious symptoms.

In fact, when others present with socially awkward signs of AS that I know are signs of AS but others in the room just think are rude behaviour, it makes me look to them with the same "wtf?" sort of look that they garner from NT's. But I don't call them out and call them rude or anything as I realize full well why they are the way they are.. but because I'm much more intuitively socially integrated than ever, I pick up on their symptoms big time and realize just how much more severely signs & symptoms present in them than me.

Ops, sorry for that. Is because we still have asperger as a diagnosis here on Brazil and i forgot that you said earlier that it was Autism where you live.
In your case it is, probably, as other people have stated: A matter of severity.
Some autistic people have way more external signs than the others and, in that case, it really is not "hidden".

Neither of us has autism that can be hidden.[/quote}
Several people have asked my mom what disability (very low social skills and occasional stimming) I have. Still having the physical body of about 9 years old, healthcare guesses intellectual disabilities.