Autism doesn't have a single model. People refer to it as ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder. It generally involves some degree of problems with social skills.
Some sufferers can barely function while others can be highly functional in certain activities such as the notion of extraordinary skills in maths and memory popularies by the rainman movie. It isn't like that for everyone though.
Many people would be classified as "on the spectrum" if they took test but don't realise it. Their partners might occasionally wonder though.