As the parent of a kid (now pretty much grown) with Asperger's (with a *P*, if you please) , I'd like to chime in here. If you are not feeling a huge sense of relief at finally realizing what it is that makes your child so different, then I will go out on a limb and say that he probably doesn't have AS. My son has quirks that all make sense under the Aspie label. It explains his social problems, his one sided speech patterns, his lack of curiosity about other people, his low muscle tone, poor handwriting, lack of awareness of personal space, extreme reactions to lights, noise, crowds, tactile sensations, etc. Many of these have become less obvious with time and a LOT of overt teaching, but he will always have these tendencies. While it is possible to learn to cope with autism, I don't believe anyone can actually be "cured" of it.
My son enjoys spending time with friends, but he is 18 and still pretty much plays parallel style through role playing and video games. He rarely thinks to ask his friends, "what's new?" or "when are you leaving for college?" He just doesn't think to ask them anything beyond "what game should we play next?" or "are you hungry?" He lives very much in the moment, and finds it difficult to talk about the future.
There is a very broad spectrum for kids with different forms of autism. I do encourage you to look at NVLD (non verbal learning disability) if AS seems way off, just in case you are not familiar with it. It's similar to AS, but generally has a much milder affect on people. It's like AS light. I suggest this just as a precaution, and I sincerely hope that your son does not fit under any of these labels.
best wishes-
