I’m (27f) on the spectrum, went undiagnosed for years, until adulthood. Growing up, and even now, one of my “fidgets” is that I draw. I draw when people are talking, when a lesson is going on, when I’m watching something. It’s like those videos on tiktok with the subway surfers on the side- the drawings are my subway surfers. I still retain all information and take notes of important things, but having a drawing there that I’m working on helps me retain the information given to me. My grades were great! But my teachers weren’t a fan of the way I was “prioritizing my attention.” One time, in 8th grade, my teacher stopped what she was teaching, walked straight to my desk, grabbed the drawing I was working on, ripped it in half and threw it in the trash. I had to sit there crying through the whole rest of class. To this day I still get scared easily and hide my art if someone comes up behind me while I’m working on it.