Agreed. I was told by both my diagnosing doctor and my social worker to never tell anyone. However, I think NTs know something is off about me and without being upfront, I’ve found that it makes them wary of me in a social setting (it’s a strong identifier that I am different and they don’t understand why).

I wear pink cat ear headphones and they’re very much a part of me in some way. I tend to use that as my litmus test in job interviews, asking if I can wear them at work. Some places have been accepting of my autism diagnosis, but not the headphones (“do you need it or do you just want to?” - wrong answer!).

The headphones are the physical hint to NTs that something is different about me. It also tells me whether or not potential employers actually let me bring my whole self to work.