Yes -- I was going to reply to "There are certain people who have no fear of departing the pack" with "there are some people who <i>can't</i> stay with the pack!".

These (not just the autistics, but also other neurodiverse folks) are the true "natural outsiders". As demonstrated by the OP's comments, their presence in a group (or contrariwise their exclusion) has nontrivial effects on how a group acts, and especially how it deals with challenges.