Sorry they denied you and you have to keep fighting this. It looks to me like they denied you at step 5--or perhaps step 4 now that I read your later post-- in their D section (see link at the end).
Surprised they denied you, if you never had any substantial gainful employment before, and if you have any Autism type diagnosis, as I know several that had even just had a PDD-NOS diagnosis then (considered very mild Autism) that still got disability benefits prior the Appeals Council, and as I believe the SSA generally considers any diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum as one of the mental health conditions that are listed high as potentially being a disabling condition.
It would seem like a disability lawyer would be needed to uncover any of the Administrative Law Judges errors in their ruling, to overturn that decision, and for the Appeals Council to be on their best legal behavior. It's one thing to sometimes prevail at the Initial stage and Reconsideration Stages without a lawyer, but once you get to the ALJ stage a competent disability lawyer is strongly preferred, and for the Appeals Council Stage, it seems almost essential.
SSA - POMS: DI 22001.001 - Sequential Evaluation of Title II and Title XVI Adult Disability Claims - 02/16/2018
Also, I will send a non-government link privately to you (not posting it publicly as it may or may not be allowed) that could help you much for this specific matter, too, if you were not aware of that place before.
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