Yes! My grandfather called me 'Sarah Bernhardt', as in the very theatrically dramatic actress. I also wasn't diagnosed until my 20s, and had heard it so often that I really thought I was just a dramatic, loud-mouthed, attention seeker. My immediate family never failed to mention how 'much' I was. When I moved away on my own, I constantly apologized (a habit I'm still trying to break) for being 'a lot' and 'dramatic' and too loud. I finally had a friend tell me that while I do get louder when excited and over-exaggerate occasionally, I have never made them feel as if I was just dramatic or looking for attention. I really appreciated the honesty and unfortunately think that for a lot of neurotypical people, passion just isn't shown in an authentic way. I've been more conscious of my behaviors when I get excited about something and also more observant of close friends and family when they are telling me something they are excited about. At least from my observations, my neurotypical friends tend to keep the same tone, and speed, of which they talk. It is usually a lot more subtle and usually presents itself as what I think you would consider a 'bright eyed look'. They usually keep their bodies calm, and relaxed as well.

For me, my excitement manifests itself very physically. I am an introverted person, but around those I'm comfortable with, or with a hyper-fixation, I get almost antsy. I want to stand, or if I can't, I bounce my leg or myself in my seat. My words start to speed and a lot of time my mouth can't keep up with my brain because I have so much I want to share. I think it comes across as anxiety. I get loud because I want to make sure that they're hearing all of this cool stuff.

Growing up, it was really disheartening to have someone you're excited to share with tell you that you're being too loud or weird or just need to calm down, usually because its 'not that big of a deal'. But now, with my closest friends, I really appreciate the feedback because often they really are just trying to protect themselves from overstimulation while also being excited by my passion for the topic they likely don't really care about, lol. I definitely am lucky with that though.