why is she like that?

I know exactly how this woman felt as a mother.
See this post is on how this mother felt with raising her autisc boy.
I have gone through something very similar and I am in the middle of it too.

Kids do come to you and ask things like "why does Leigh speak like that?"
"why can't Leigh be like us?" "why does she cry so easy?"
"How come she feels so bad with noise?"
It's cruel yet innocent.
I am sure no kid meant as a sarcasm, they simply haven't seen anyone with autism and no one really taught them about it... I mean I didn't really know what autism was for real until I suspected Leigh of it when she was little. So how can you expect these little kids to understand?

Yet the wordst feels like daggers and I too had no right words when I first heard them and felt sweat trickling down. I haven't sat down with Leigh told her she is autistic so I didn't want to tell them Leigh is autistic in front of them and let them understand, I don't think 5-8 years olds would have said "Oh I see".

I think Leigh knows she is different but she has never asked why or what is going on. She is very naive for her age and I think she is not really questioning it yet or thinks being different is a big deal.
Though she did ask me how come she couldn't go to the normal class 2 years ago.
Real answer: she can't handle the sound there yet. there are too many triggers that would panic her in the class... and teachers look after 30 kids... probably she won't get much guidance/attention.
So I told her that she would be more free in her special class and it will be quieter.
She nodded and asked me if I received any letter saying she has to go to special class.
(but I was surprised that she thought about how things work... how there might be a system where ppl decide where one goes)
It felt a little sad ... I also wanted to say... you know Leigh, school is not everything... something bigger is waiting for you and you will know when the time comes.

For now, I don't feel I need to explain to her about her condition.
But I will when I see any signs of curiosity rise. I don't want her to speculate and think what others tell her wrongly, which will happen if I put a blind eye.
I am thinking the time will come in about 3-4 years when she is more mature and wants to know what's going on. I hope telling her the fact will put her at ease but nothing else.

It's perfectly okay to be autistic, it actually makes her unique in her own ways and I want her to feel that way instead of.... you know.