My thought is primarily in pictures. I have read people who think in pictures are considered autistic. IF this is true, my experience is there must be differing degrees of autism.
While I do have and enjoy a stronger degree of sensitivity to people and the world around me, it does not prevent me from communicating with other people. The difficulty I have is in the way information is organized in my thought, which is not always the same as someone who does not think in pictures. I "see" what other people must piece together by words, so when I communicate with people who think in words, I consider it communicating in "flat" because it is different from the way in which I think. Sometimes it takes me a little longer to understand, but once I understand a subject or topic, I can examine it in ways most people cannot.
There are a few things people would probably not consider "normal." I do loose time when I am deep in thought. Often whole days. It is not as though I am unaware, it is the thought I am in is so interesting I forget to notice not just time, but what is going on around me. I still function. Sometimes when I am deep in thought, I can make statements that may seem a little odd because I am not truly focused on anything other than what I am thinking intently about.
There are advantages to being this way. One college professor kept me after class to share with me she considers me to be an amazing descriptive writer. One employer I had took full advantage of my unique perspective which resulted in my salary almost doubling. That was way cool!
It has its downside as well. My first year of school I was terrified. I would not move from the chair for lunch or to go to recess. I remember barely breathing and not turning my head to the left or the right. Of course, they retained me thinking I had not learned anything, which was reflective in my grades... The next year it was apparent I did learn the year before, and they asked me if I wanted to be placed up into the next grade. I still do not understand where the information came from or remember when I learned it. It was just there and I knew it.
Time is not the true difficulty with autism. It is the great sensitivity we experience which makes us so sensitive to our surroundings that we have to insulate ourselves from things we find overwhelming to deal with in the world around us. Most of the time this is not an issue for me. Perhaps more so for others.
Cyndi