Advice for my 7 year old son - please

i Have thought my son is autistic since he was younger but listened to others who said he’s too clever To be autistic  I feel terrible for not doing sooner but I’m filling out a doctors form tomorrow to start it all off  

he is very clever but there’s lots of things that he does which make me think he is 

  • Biting finger when angry and growling - leaving mark on his finger
  • Lining up toys, chairs, anything in particular way
  • Building up toys but not actually playing with them
  • Flapping fingers by eyes, clicking and clapping, clicking fingers
  • Biting nails - so so so short!
  • High pitched noises - especially police siren noises. Singing lines from songs
  • Rarely drink anything unless we remind him to - doesn’t drink a lot at school but he drinks lots when home as we remind him to
  • Gets angry at our younger daughter (4 year old) when she wants to play but not the way he wants - he will growl/hiss at her.
  • Very keen interest in cars, trains and aeroplanes, number plates and numbers -  maths his fav subject
  • Won’t make a conversation with people -
  • Very anxious about new things, people, places - very upset stomach if stressed about something
  • Playing with toys the same every single time
  • Not liking certain foods as too soft - prefers crunchy food
  • Sleeping poorly  - taking ages to fall asleep and waking at 4ish ad not getting back to sleep

im actually just after some advice about how a diagnosis will change things and some advice on sleep!! don’t want him to get older and really struggle and wish I’d done it sooner. I already feel so bad I haven’t done it sooner so please no nasty comments. Also what do I say to doctor to make me not seem just a crazy woman. I have plenty of pictures and videos but feel they won’t take me seriously because he is clever?? 

Parents
  • Any clinician who thinks that autism and high intelligence cannot co-exist should be ashamed of their ignorance. The diagnostic manuals for autism do not mention intelligence at all, it is not a defining feature of autism. I am autistic and have a PhD in molecular biology, my daughter, also autistic (we are both clinically diagnosed), has a first class degree in chemistry. If any clinician raises intelligence in relation to autism, just shut them down by referencing that neither the DSM-5 nor the ICD-11 diagnostic manuals mention intelligence as a criterion in diagnosing autism. 

Reply
  • Any clinician who thinks that autism and high intelligence cannot co-exist should be ashamed of their ignorance. The diagnostic manuals for autism do not mention intelligence at all, it is not a defining feature of autism. I am autistic and have a PhD in molecular biology, my daughter, also autistic (we are both clinically diagnosed), has a first class degree in chemistry. If any clinician raises intelligence in relation to autism, just shut them down by referencing that neither the DSM-5 nor the ICD-11 diagnostic manuals mention intelligence as a criterion in diagnosing autism. 

Children
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