A first question would be, do you find he often seems to hear something quite different than what was said to him? In particular, when he IS listening and engaged, does he still seem to make errors in understanding what was asked of him? Does he answer the wrong question? Do you see frustration in him because he is trying to understand what you say, but can’t, because something is garbled in the translation? What you’re looking for isn’t whether he can stay on task or know how to implement directions, for instance, but rather whether he heard the wrong directions in the first place, even when listening carefully. Does he ask you to repeat yourself a lot?
Thank you, this is helpful. He doesn't seem to hear a different question, but he will be unable to repeat back what you just asked him, even when he was apparently paying attention to you. But maybe that is the ASD in play.
