On another note, Have you read "Bright, not Broken?" Kennedy/Banks w/forward by Temple Grandin ?
I have not. I did see her speak earlier this year, which was fun. She is full of useful information, and she is really a very engaging public speaker.
I find it a little odd that your psychologist said she didn't know why anyone would suggest that about him. That seems strange given the behaviors you described. Maybe he's not on the autistic spectrum, but making that suggestion when he has those behaviors is not an outlandish idea.
I think one of the difficulties with ASD diagnoses is the stigma attached to the word "autism." Especially with an obviously gifted child -- it's like we don't want to saddle the gifted child with the autism label unless he's stimming and rocking in the corner and refuses to make eye contact with anyone.
Even among professionals who should know better, there's a fear of labeling that seems to keep kids from getting diagnosed. At the end of ds7's first big formal evaluation every single professional in the room said "I don't think he's AUTISTIC, but..." Like they were saying "I don't want to say it's FATAL, but..." The autism specialist walked in the room and five minutes later she said, "yep, autism." Years later and he's obviously on the autistic spectrum, albeit with many traits that push the diagnoses in the PDD NOS category. (He's my more autistic child. My older, DS8, is much more borderline in his presentation.)
That said, I dont think there's necessarily a reason to label a kid unless it will help them. If their support system already uses all the same therapies and support, there's not always a point to labeling. But living in a household where autism is almost the norm, I find it irksome that it's still considered such a death sentence. It
should be a diagnoses that helps point people toward the correct and most useful support strategies, nothing more.
