Does anybody here feel like they actually understand what it means to be autistic?

Everyone is different, everyone he has a different life time of experiences which shape them.

Your American person has possibly had more therapy as it is more common, they may also have read or watched a lot. I expect it is just a function of time spent on looking at themselves and where their views and issues came from and what they want to do about it, i.e. coping or minimising strategies. Doesn't mean their answer is correct, but at least they think they know where they are.

A British stuff upper lip, muddle through, introverted cultural difference will no doubt also influence the difference.

But I am not sure you can be fully educated by someone else. You need to observe yourself because only you know what is in your head and what your emotions and feelings are.

Since my diagnosis a week ago I have started observing myself carefully. I have succeeded in other things by careful observation, so why not watch myself.

For example I went to Oxford yesterday and I noted how I felt when getting ready, coping with road closures, find the way, adapting to the changes since last visit, coping with newness, experience of noise and crowds, experience of heat, seeing people, having a meal and following conversations. E.g. heart rate, anxiousness, calmness, facial expressions, etc.

You also want to look at what to like and are good at, as well as what you are not good at.

I tend to miss these things because on a day to day basis I have little newness and many fixed routines.

So what autism means is your strengths and weaknesses and your emotional and physical responses. While there are trends, these are personal.

I am not sure what they mean by type. 

Stuart333 said:

Your American person has possibly had more therapy as it is more common

Agreed. There is a reluctance from many Brits to seek professional help for their mental health for a range of reasons and it does reflect on their lack of self knowledge on the whole.

I did spend a lot of time with therapists getting to know my autism and develop useful coping skills for the traits that impacted me and combined with my own research and discussions on this site, I now feel I have a really good understanding on what my autism is and how to live with it.

It is very common now for me to be able to stop in the middle of any situation and see what influences my autistic traits are having on what I am doing / feeling, and to consider if a different approach is needed. Masking for short periods of time is a great skill to have to co-exist with others while learning to not care about others opinions is an awesome survival skill.

Doing these effectively takes understanding and practice which are very hard to achieve on your own, so why not get a professional to train you, just like most do when learning to drive.

One other skill I learned was to use my lack of filters for inputs and a bit of meditation to be able to sit quietly in a bar / restaurant and take in the huge quantity of things happening around me in order to get a feel for the place, plus to identify issues that are worth keeping an eye on.

Somehow the feeling of that flood of input has gone from being overwhelming to being an ally - and it has helped me in being able to focus when I really need to and shut it out so I can talk to the people with me and not struggle.

When you do decide to work with a therapist, make sure you interview them first to assess if they really understand your autistic issues and explain how they would approach helping you with them - trust your instinct on whether they sound sincere and knowledgable and don't be afraid to not use them if they don't "feel" right.

Stuart333 said:

Your American person has possibly had more therapy as it is more common

Agreed. There is a reluctance from many Brits to seek professional help for their mental health for a range of reasons and it does reflect on their lack of self knowledge on the whole.

I did spend a lot of time with therapists getting to know my autism and develop useful coping skills for the traits that impacted me and combined with my own research and discussions on this site, I now feel I have a really good understanding on what my autism is and how to live with it.

It is very common now for me to be able to stop in the middle of any situation and see what influences my autistic traits are having on what I am doing / feeling, and to consider if a different approach is needed. Masking for short periods of time is a great skill to have to co-exist with others while learning to not care about others opinions is an awesome survival skill.

Doing these effectively takes understanding and practice which are very hard to achieve on your own, so why not get a professional to train you, just like most do when learning to drive.

One other skill I learned was to use my lack of filters for inputs and a bit of meditation to be able to sit quietly in a bar / restaurant and take in the huge quantity of things happening around me in order to get a feel for the place, plus to identify issues that are worth keeping an eye on.

Somehow the feeling of that flood of input has gone from being overwhelming to being an ally - and it has helped me in being able to focus when I really need to and shut it out so I can talk to the people with me and not struggle.

When you do decide to work with a therapist, make sure you interview them first to assess if they really understand your autistic issues and explain how they would approach helping you with them - trust your instinct on whether they sound sincere and knowledgable and don't be afraid to not use them if they don't "feel" right.