Is it normal for someone on the autism spectrum to be...

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... as academically inept and financially unsuccessful as I?

For most people, social skills and intellect work like a sea saw. The weaker you are in one, the stronger you are in the other. However, this isn’t the case for me. Despite being on the autism spectrum, I took 5 years to graduate from a bad college, and in my 30s, I only make 80k a year.

Never graduated and only had 1 job over the poverty line for 2.5 years.

I dropped out of high school in under two months because my anxiety and the bullying was so bad.

There is a saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I don’t know how people on the autism spectrum compare to neurotypicals in the workplace overall because so many of us ‘mask’ our neurodivergence to fit in with the majority. I had to pretend to be neurotypical for 50 years in order to work at a job that paid fairly. It’s exhausting and I’m tired of hiding my strengths. Autism allows me to see life in ways that many others don’t. Diversity, color, sensory perceptions, pattern recognition, etc. give us valid cues and insights that can be shared with others. Doesn’t that matter most?

80k is higher than the median income in CT. 44k It is higher than the median income in West Hartford, a wealthy CT town. 63k.

I didn't make a ton of money, but I saved a lot and was able to easily retire at 59.

You may want to explore different hobbies to find out what you are good at. Or what you enjoy doing.

It might be the style of teaching that's making you think you suck at understanding academic information. I suspect anybody can understand anything if it's explained clearly enough. I struggled during my high school years but did much better at finding things out for myself in my own sweet way. That's how I passed my exams - I bypassed the teachers. I got qualifications from it, which got me a job. Don't know if that makes me financially successful or not. I've always had enough to live on with a bit over for toys, and that's all I really want.

I think there's something in the notion that people who are socially competent tend to be poor at technical things. The socially adept just get others to do the hard work for them I guess. But it's not that simple.