One 6-year-old's take on excitement stimming:

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You're welcome. Sorry I didn't come back until this morning, I was sick last night.

The test most commonly administered to screen for autism is called the ADOS. It tests kids for their capabilities in two areas alone; communication and social "aptitude" (for lack of a better word).

If your son is communicating well and gets along fine with other kids/has no trouble making friends, then maybe autism is not a major concern. I am also not a professional, so take that with a grain of salt, I guess. I want to throw out the word ADHD here because it is possible that a clinician will bring that up. And, well, some of your son's stuff sounds a little ADHD-ish.

I think the first step is to see your child's regular pediatrician. Bring up your concerns and the reasons for them, and your pediatrician can point you in the right directions for resources and referrals. Then you make an appointment with whatever psychologist. Then you buckle up, 'cause more often then not - it's a really long ride.

If you have anymore questions (or if someone else wants to jump in here, I'm new to this, too), just ask. We'll get you answers. Good luck, and keep us posted.



Also, I wanted to add that my son really didn't have an understanding that we were testing him because he wasn't "average" so I really didn't have a lot of explaining to do. We know he doesn't like it when he's being talked about... AT ALL... so we ended up telling him this:

"We are going to take a ride tomorrow and go to a place with a special friend who wants to know all about you. But since she doesn't know all about you yet, we're going to have to tell her all about you. That means we are going to talk about you and how wonderful you are so she can be your friend. She will talk to us about how wonderful you are, too, and we will play, then go home. Don't be upset if you get confused over anything we say. It's nothing bad. In fact, I think it's going to be a really fun day!"

So we went, then went out to lunch and ice cream afterwards, and that officially classified it as a good day in his book.