Does Robbie know he has Autism?

The conversation started with a question from my 6 year old so. " Mom, does Robbie know he has Autism?"  I've actually been asked that question before but never really knew how to answer.  Autism by definition is a developmental disorder of variable severity that is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication and by restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior.
By definition he most likely does not know he is on the spectrum. Out of curiosity,  I asked him. We looked at a pin I have. It's a small puzzle piece with the word AUTISM on it. I have it tattooed on my wrist as well. I asked Robbie to read it. He struggled to sound it out- as he does with most words.  I repeated it back to him and asked if he knew what Autism meant? It was as if he'd never heard the word before. Autism is a word we use very often in our house, so I was a bit surprised. I explained autism in the simplest terms I could. When things are too loud, or too busy or just too much. He nodded that he understood and then pointed to the red paperclip on my dresser, next to the pin and my jewelry. "This doesn't belong here. It's a red clip paper. Is it broken. Can I have it? Oh, here's another red clip paper. this doesn't belong here. Can I have it?"  And that is where the conversation ended.
The red paper clip or clip paper didn't belong with my jewelry and the autism pin. It might have been bend or broken. But it has a place in our home and Robbie wanted it just the same.  So the answer is , no Robbie does not know he has Autism. And it doesn't matter at all.