Wowwww, I can relate to this a lot. Thank you so much for sharing.

And my teachers were split along one half having given up on me (avoiding judgement and conflict) and the other projecting their own dreams of how an “eccentric, intelligent, troubled child/teenager” should look, supporting me.

It's possible a few of them were aware you were autistic. I found out in mid-life. When I did my assessment, the psychologist helped me realize that my parents definitely knew and I was under some sort of individualize plan for autistic kids throughout public school. Another thing is that I always thought I looked weird on video, but wouldn't think much of it since many people say they don't like to see themselves on video. After my adult diagnosis, I started looking at videos of level 1 autistic people and then videos of me. I realized it's super evident that I'm autistic. If someone has experience with level one autistic people, they can probably spot it within minutes. Teachers have lots of experience with kids. They can see a lot more than we realize.

Good luck at your assessment!