Could I have autism?

Firstly, apologies for any words or phrasing I might use unwittingly that could cause offence. And sorry for the rambling - I hope someone will read this. I'm really new to all this and not sure where I am.

I think I may have autism. I started looking into it because of one or two of my children that I'm also wondering about, and a passing comment made by a friend who has a family member on the spectrum.

I want to ask a question that's been bothering me. I'm very happy with language and metaphor. In fact English lit, and modern languages were subjects I was naturally drawn to and good at. I've never had any difficulty understanding nuances in meaning and I love words. I'm also very artistic, and talking about maths concepts and logic make my brain hurt.

I have dug under a lot of things in my life recently and realised I'm not what I thought I was. I have identified quite a few traits that could be classified as autistic, that I could see I have been masking throughout my life to get by. The past year has shown me I don't have any friends to rely on, I've always been the one to work the hardest to keep relationships going and this pandemic has really brought this into sharp relief.

But I keep wondering if I am just socially inept and my anxieties exist because my mother was overprotective before I left home. I never struggled at school academically, I got through most of my subjects without much difficulty - not that I understood everything, but then who does? I was always the quiet, shy, conscientious student that the teachers complained needed to speak up more in class.

I haven't found anyone that says that people with autism can also love metaphor and imagery and not struggle with sarcasm. Is there anyone out there like me that has had a diagnosis or knows they have autism? Please be kind and please also be honest.

Thank you for reading if you have got this far.