A little knowledge is a dangerous thing in the wrong hands.
Yes!!! Or a book group! Urgh.... Why is it when someone has read one fictional book and discussed it with their friends over coffee, all of a sudden they're qualified diagnosticians????
We laughed... we cried... we mailed in the coupon for a medical degree...
DS is very quirky -- especially verbally quirky -- but we have a pediatrician, a psychologist and a speech pathologist who have given their reasoned professional opinions based on several hours of interaction and/or testing that he is (insert drum roll.....) Just Quirky! The speech pathologist said he's "cute" too.
He's not autistic. No one with any kind of professional background that would have any reason to consider it has ever even brought it up, and he doesn't exhibit any warning signs, but that hasn't stopped random people who read a book once from suggesting it. *sigh*
Now other things? Sure. I wouldn't rule out a little mild OCD (emphasis on the O, not the C -- no rituals, but occasional invasive thoughts), and he has a few very specific and predictable frustrations, involving too much chaos and not enough personal space. The first he's handling fine and redirects himself with only a little assistance, so if he can manage it through the teen years I won't worry. The second is improving with maturity and practice, and it's a very inward-directed frustration -- never lashing out. If he can remove himself from a frustrating situation he does, and it's fine. But even with those things, he's the easiest kid in the world to parent and if THAT is autism(??) then I don't see what the problem is.
