Amy, I agree with smallmom on the neuropsychologist and that high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is often misdiagnosed as other things. Your list of AS traits is right on the money. AS is the only Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) that doesn't include a speech delay and the kids are from average intelligence to brilliant, although ALL have serious social deficits and trouble with "getting it" (if you have an Aspie you know what that means). My friend has a 29 year old Aspie son with an IQ of 160 and he has yet to be able to keep even a menial job. He has the academic skills, but is so out of the social norms that he keeps getting fired, and is on Disability. He's married, but they both live with my friend, and his wife is so fed up she's ready to leave him. He has no common sense, but can speak three languages fluently and, when you talk to him, you can tell he's a genuis. Kids with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified, which includes a speech delay, tend to be more social, although they have social deficits too. Also, some Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified kids don't have an average IQ. Yet both can make big gains with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) interventions. I wouldn't try a pediatrician, regular psycologist, or even a Psychiatrist to diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It is NOT a psychiatric disorders and many psychiatrists don't know much about it (even though they often profess that they do). We had a really bad experience with a psychiatrist who misdiagnosed my son with bipolar! What a mess.
