So I'm not a doctor either, but here is what I know about autism, I've written an article on it, I have a mild form of it, my brother has moderate-to-mild autism, I've met people who have it so badly they can't talk, can't make eye contact, can't socialize at all, social rules are a foreign language that they don't speak and certainly do not understand...here ya go.
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Autism Spectrum Disorders Most people will think of a silent, stony-faced child who sits in a corner, rocking and is completely unresponsive. This is the sad truth for a minute portion of the Autistic population, but most are nowhere nearly so severe. The most important thing you can learn about Autism is that it's a SPECTRUM DISORDER. That means it's like the difference between black and white--white being a normal person, and black being a very severely autistic person. There are many, many, many shades of gray in between the black and the white. I am in the pale gray. I have Asperger's Syndrome. The whole set of symptoms portrayed by people with ASD's (in any range of severity) are: Fixation: this means that they are basically prone to obsession, eg, they become obsessed easily, and tend to stay with that obsession for a long time. Usually a positive one, although that doesn't mean their family and friends won't go crazy from hearing them talk about it ALL THE TIME. This is called perseveration. Delayed Social Skills: they display difficulty fitting into a social structure; they often have trouble in conversation, and may talk about a narrow range of things. likely their perseveration is a favorite subject. Poor Language or even non-existent language: this means they may not speak at all, or are nonverbal. Most, however, do speak, at least a little. All three criterion must be met for a patient to be diagnosed with Autism. Those who fall in two of the categories will likely be classified as having Asperger's Syndrome--which I have. My nine-year-old bother is mildly Autistic. This is why I included this condition. I never do hear the end of his rants about WWII...(that's his perseveration, lucky me, I like history, though.) Contrary to popular belief, minutely few, autistic people are savants, although they may have extensive knowledge on the subject of their perseveration. Very few have such an extraordinary gift like those who are shown in the media.
Along with ASD's may come sensory issues. You may have no idea what that means. I can tell, you, though. Sensory issues make everyday, normally inoffensive stimuli almost unbearable. My worst sensory issues would be sound. A sniffle, snort, sneeze, clearing of the throat, etc, will trigger an instant rage reaction. Sensory issues are a real challenge in my day-to-day life.
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If he doesn't exhibit repetitive behaviors or obsessions, I'd say his autism is either nonexistent or very mild. The repitition is a big trademark of it. Speech delays aren't always indicative of autism, he should probably be tested by an autism specialist just to make sure once and for all. I think it will also become apparent later on as he gets older if he has trouble socially, that would be a significant sign. Autism isn't a disease, it's a condition, the people who have it are shaped by its effects, it's a kind of strange thing to look at the where the "disorder" ends and the person's nature begins. It's really an interesting prospect if you ask me. Anyway, I'll hush about autistic culture...either he has it or he doesn't time will tell. It's not an emergency, and if he does have it, he's already getting the speech therapy that is often the main need of autistic individuals. Provided he isn't nonverbal, he shouldn't have too many big problems.
As a last statment if nothing else sticks to anyone who's read this: autism just isolates a person and complicates their ability to communicate, IT DOES NOT IN ANY WAY EFFECT INTELEGENCE!!!