You're welcome.

Also, once you find out what is the diagnosis is, you may want to find an advocate who can help you with the IEP. This is someone who should know all the laws related to disabilities so that you can make sure proper services are in place at school. Your son should also be receiving Speech and OT at school. I would start now by getting everything in place so that you are well prepared for both the psychologist and the school. I know it can seem very overwhelming, but if you keep at it, you will be doing what is best for your son.

Good luck!

Yes, children can be diagnosed as on the spectrum even if they show some characteristics of autism. He could be labeled with autistic tendencies and not autistic b/c the DSM criteria for someone to be autistic has changed. Or he could be considered HF. You really need to have an evaluation and sit down with everyone to see if what a psychologist has to say and compare it to what the school has to say. Then take it from there and see what type of services will be beneficial for him. Early intervention can really help children on the spectrum.

My son was officially diagnosed at 8 as Asperger's/HF (and I tried to get him diagnosed before that, but everyone said he's fine, but he wasn't, he wasn't at the same level as his peers). He only had an IEP for speech, but he had other issues that needed to be addressed. With him being diagnosed he was able to get the services in school and outside of school to help him out. He's now 15, headed off to HS, he's been mainstreamed since MS with help, but that's the point, he gets the help he needs.

Also. Please don't use the word symptoms when describing autism. Autism is a neurological development on how the brain works, it is not a sickness or disease and by using symptoms, then you are giving your son a label as to being "sick" when he's not. You don't want people to treat him like he has some type of illness. You want him to be treated like anyone else. His brain just works differently and there is nothing wrong with him. I'm not trying to lecture you, I'm just trying to let you know since you are trying to navigate the water right now.:)

And yes, everyone is unique.

That's a good point about comparing what the psychologist and the school have to say.

My son has been getting speech and OT by private insurance. His OT said that he isn't qualified but I pushed for it. I am going to push for other services as well at the IEP.

Yes, you are right. Autism is not an illness but how the brain is wired is different. :)

Thank you again for the response!

The neurologist didn't use any test module. After only a few minutes of interaction, she determined that he had ASD. Her reasoning was that he didn't share toys with her; therefore, he is socially delayed.

We haven't had an IEP meeting yet, but the school psychologist and OT said that his interaction with her and his peers was typical.

I will ask many questions at the IEP and if things are still not clear, try to find a psychologist who can administer ADOS.

I wanted to know if there are any kids who ended up being autistic even with only a few symptoms, but I guess everyone is unique and we can't just tell by symptoms.

Thank you for the response.

Did the neurologist and the school psychologist go over their findings with you as to what made their determination? They both should have sat down with you and gone over all the tests they did and explain the results in comparison to peers who are not autistic.

Also, all children/adults have different traits of autism. And the stereotypical (not being affectionate, empathy, etc) stuff in books does not apply to everyone. Everyone is different.

If you are not happy with your Dr.'s, you can "fire" them. You don't need to stick to that Dr. Go find another Dr., preferably a psychologist who will do an evaluation. Depending upon the psychologist, they can do a number of different tests. And there is one test(Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, ADOS, it has different Modules depending upon the age/level of child or adult) that is now becoming more widely used that only takes about an hour. It has key questions and role playing along with some other criteria to make the determination.

You need to ask a lot of questions to find your answers.