Personally, I'd consider any dx given to a young child age under 8 to be provisional and think of it as a mean to get services paid by insurance.
My DD4 shares some of the traits too:
1. Explosive tantrums (though it is infrequent but when it happens, omg)
2. Inability to share with her parents, need to control play almost with everyone
4. Sensory issues with just about everything under age 3; limited to clothes and loud sound at the moment
5. Early reader although she can comprehend what she reads or else she won't read it
7. As she declared a few days ago, "I'm NEVER going to be flexible."
9. "I get to talk FIRST."
11. She used to line everything up and made patterns after patterns at age 2. She no longer does this.
Whenever I list these things down, I feel like I sounds like a mom who is in denial that her child is on the spectrum but honestly, anyone who spends a minute with her would know she is not autistic. I'm not sure if she has ADHD. It runs in my family but so far, although she can be impulsive, she is functioning well within school setting. I'd have to keep an eye out as she gets older and the demand for organizational skills increases.
OP, my DD had extreme sleep problems and everyone thought it was our fault for letting her stay up that late. I eventually stopped trying to explain why we can't have morning playdates or why I look so tired. I don't think most people can relate to what it is like to parent a child with "special" needs.
