"Everyone has AS to some degree." This reply ok?

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Superficial behaviors will always be vague when used to describe something like this.
The more important factors are differences in perceptions and thinking that drives the behaviors.

For example, everyone doesn't have a bit of Alzheimer's because they sometimes can't recall something.

My little scab fell off. Oh that means I must have bit of Leprosy!!

I wouldn't use a physical analogy, because a healthy person will not appreciate it. You can have an absolutely dire time for a few days, but once you recover, you'll soon forget all about it. It has to be chronic for the analogy to strike home. I have Crohn's disease. For the first few years it was mild, and I didn't see what all the fuss was about. Then it got worse, and a decade of hell followed - at some point I knew. I absolutely knew, and I repented for my past ignorance.

Similarly, autism is lifelong: I cannot stress this enough. It starts in early childhood and there is no remission, no periods where you are NT for a while. It will be with you until the day you die. Some NTs might have autistic-like traits, but these won't be a core part of their being. For example, they might have trouble getting along with a group of people, but it's situational to that particular group. Whereas an autistic person would struggle with all groups, no matter how nice or congenial the people are within it.

To be diagnosed as autistic, you must also meet the triad of impairments. Here is a decent summary of the triad.

http://www.brookdalecare.co.uk/what-is-autism#triad

It should be noted that some mental health disorders can result in symptoms which resemble autism. For example, people suffering from depression are likely to be uncommunicative, withdrawn, self-obsessed, etc. This is particularly complicated by the fact that people with autism extremely often have co-morbid depression and anxiety. Since in general psychologists are far more aware of depression and anxiety than they are of autism, some adults will be misdiagnosed for years before they finally get an autism diagnosis.

One more thing to add: if your social difficulties started in adolescence or adulthood, then you don't have autism. End of story. Symptoms have to be obvious from early childhood - middle childhood at the absolute latest.

I had a fever once so I know what it's like to have Ebola. Basically everyone has had Ebola.

I am having an impossible time trying to figure out what a social overture is ?

Thank you for the replies, people. I must admit that I'm getting a bit "overloaded" with information though so now I'm not sure what to write at all. But please keep writing (if you want to). I'll sit down and go through it all tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to write a good reply to the person I mentioned in the original post (unless I can't figure it out and decide to not reply at all).

I'll put it more bluntly: the physical disease analogy is flawed.

For a start, most diseases do exist on a spectrum ranging from mild to severe. It may not be possible to have a "touch" of disease, but it's certainly possible to have a mild or non-complicated variation which doesn't affect your life too much.

Frankly, I don't think half the people on this board would understand what it's like to have severe autism, let alone a physical illness.

I think many of us understand physical illness.

Skibum, I'm glad there are more of us with that problem. I think your analogy with the flue and diabetes was really good.

Everybody's a little bit short!

Skil, I am doing some work right now so I only have a few seconds for a quick post but I will send you my games soon.