Same here. I used to participate in mocking him, until a few years ago, the light went off for a bunch of people including myself, that he was just different in the way he reacted to the world outside of him.
I’m not a psychological expert, nor am I an expert on autism or any of the other disorders that are possible, and I’m not even saying he has any of those, but he is “different“ and it’s not a shtick - it’s just the way he is. Honestly, the kind of mocking that went on was cruel, and I did a little bit of it myself.
I am of the belief now that the guy is 100% genuine, take him or leave him, he may not always be right, he may even have a wildly optimistic imagination, but that’s who he is.
God bless him.