The other thing about a high functioning or borderline aspie is that the social problems aren't as apparent when they are younger because of the less complex nature of interactions. My son wasn't diagnosis until he was almost 13. But I think the real problem is language - specifically non-verbal language. The social stuff stems from that.
This is my son in a nutshell: He has always had friends and wants companionship but usually waits until someone seeks him out. He was well-liked by peers when he was younger and is not a behavior problem in school. He has exceptional eye contact, appropriate affect, is very affectionate, and can show empathy. He's most comfortable with people older or younger than him and one at a time. He's somewhat pedantic (speaks in a formal way), literal, has restricted interests and transitions very poorly. He has a hard time communicating his thoughts and feelings and becomes easily frustrated and judges himself harshly. There's no middle ground. He's extremely clumsy with very poor fine motor control (dressing, writing) but is a pretty good athlete. He has difficulty sleeping but wakes up immediately and mostly in a good mood. He was late to toilet train and still has occasional accidents. He will try any kind of food but is very picky with clothing and is both hyper and hyposensitive to sound and touch. He's average intelligence but is way behind in math. His favorite subject is science. He's active, impulsive, easily distracted by noise, and becomes very anxious in unfamiliar situations. Puberty brought moodiness and self-awareness in a negative way.
Don't know if that helps or confuses you but I think I would really look most closely at his language. Unfortunately, my son was tested many times for speech but only received services starting in 4th grade because they didn't look at pragmatics when they assessed him. I always knew there was a language problem, I just couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly.
This is my son in a nutshell: He has always had friends and wants companionship but usually waits until someone seeks him out. He was well-liked by peers when he was younger and is not a behavior problem in school. He has exceptional eye contact, appropriate affect, is very affectionate, and can show empathy. He's most comfortable with people older or younger than him and one at a time. He's somewhat pedantic (speaks in a formal way), literal, has restricted interests and transitions very poorly. He has a hard time communicating his thoughts and feelings and becomes easily frustrated and judges himself harshly. There's no middle ground. He's extremely clumsy with very poor fine motor control (dressing, writing) but is a pretty good athlete. He has difficulty sleeping but wakes up immediately and mostly in a good mood. He was late to toilet train and still has occasional accidents. He will try any kind of food but is very picky with clothing and is both hyper and hyposensitive to sound and touch. He's average intelligence but is way behind in math. His favorite subject is science. He's active, impulsive, easily distracted by noise, and becomes very anxious in unfamiliar situations. Puberty brought moodiness and self-awareness in a negative way.
Don't know if that helps or confuses you but I think I would really look most closely at his language. Unfortunately, my son was tested many times for speech but only received services starting in 4th grade because they didn't look at pragmatics when they assessed him. I always knew there was a language problem, I just couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly.