To doubt my child really has Asperger’s

Hi, I hope it’s ok I post here. My son who just turned 8 has been assessed by a speech and language therapist and she thinks he may be on the autism spectrum, she told me I should think Asperger’s. He seems to struggle with sustaining friendships in the playground and doesn’t always seem to be aware of other people’s emotions and social cues. He can speak quite loudly, though not always, and copies a lot of phrases from language he’s heard elsewhere, i.e. from tv, books and audio books. He can get quite engrossed in hobbies, currently playing the guitar, but there is still plenty of room for other things like all sorts of sports, Lego, etc. so I wouldn’t necessarily call these an obsession. 

Thing is, my son is the most easygoing child. Does not care for routine much at all, if anything changes last minute he’s cool with that and he’s just generally very adaptable. He also doesn’t have any repetitive behaviours or any sensory issues at all and is always happy to try new foods. He hit all his milestones fine when he was little and did enjoy imaginative play, at least he liked dressing up and performing.

I’m so torn over whether I should have him diagnosed. He’s so little and it seems like a really big deal. In my heart I don’t really think he is autistic. I read that for many parents the diagnosis was a relief or a confirmation of something they had long thought to be true. For us it’s the opposite. We have never felt our son showed unusual behaviours but after everything I’ve not read on Asperger’s/ASD I must admit he has more traits than I thought.

My question is: are his language issues enough reason to go down the route of diagnosis? Or does the absence of the other behavioural traits make it less likely he’s got ASD? I would love to hear other people’s advice and experience. Thank you for reading. 

Parents
  • Some autistics, like me, are 'time blind' to a certain extent. Obviously, someone who is time blind has no need for, or ability to follow, strict routines. I still like things to remain the same, and dislike change, but routines play very little part in my life.

    Many autistics have very vivid imaginations, it is social imagination that we often have problems with, which is a relatively narrow part of imagination. 

Reply
  • Some autistics, like me, are 'time blind' to a certain extent. Obviously, someone who is time blind has no need for, or ability to follow, strict routines. I still like things to remain the same, and dislike change, but routines play very little part in my life.

    Many autistics have very vivid imaginations, it is social imagination that we often have problems with, which is a relatively narrow part of imagination. 

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