This is so interesting.
When I took my ds to be assessed I mentioned all the behavours he exhibited that I had observed in those on the autistic spectrum. I.e, lining up cars and toys and an obsession with sorting everything into groups by colour,shape or size.
He later moved onto categorizing every piece of information he can. He still does.
He exhausts one obsession before moving onto another. I too have had the label and the other one(adhd) thrown at me. However he is very social, empathetic and communicates well.
I am lucky in that I have worked with people with autism for over twenty years and can see many behaviours that are gt typical that are also present in autism. I know too that my ds fits nowhere at all the spectrum. It takes an expert clinician to diagnose autism and the classic triage of behaviours, lack of communication, imagination and socialisation should be there before even considering autism. Others are resistance to change and obsessions.
I think the obsessions that we see in gt children are very different to the obsessive rituals that are seen in autistic spectrum. It is really just a list of observed behaviours that the more you can see, the further up the spectrum a person is. The same with adhd.
Unfortunately I have had to put more than a few people right when they have suggested it to me. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing in the wrong hands. It is wonderful to be able to read such an interesting topic here handled so well.
