Hey :3 I didn't even think of that, so it's definitely worth giving it a go! Thank you for bringing it up :3 I think I was given a national insurance number when I was a teenager, so I've got one I can try. Itch never did respond to my follow up email, so I'm still clueless as to where all that withheld money ends up >.<
And no worries, I don't find that offensive at all :3 While I'm certainly no expert, I've taken the time to look into resources my therapist has recommended on the subject, and from what I understand, the spectrum is incredibly broad with everyone being impacted differently. With your son still being so young, I guess it's hard to tell what will happen as he grows, but I'm sure whatever happens, with your support, everything will work out alright :3
I'd be nowhere without my dad. My diagnosis is Aspergers/high-functioning autism. When discussing this with a professional for the first time, he said he doesn't like the term 'high-functioning' because it almost suggests that the person is able to function just fine, but he said he understands the need to differentiate the kinds of functioning that each person has. So for example, while I'm capable of doing things like I am here, making visual novels, socially, I'm useless >.< So I can function in my own little bubble world if someone (my dad) is looking after me, but I couldn't function on my own because my anxiety and social skills are so dreadful that I can never gain or keep regular employment :( I can't even do basic things like phone up for an appointment if I need one because using the phone to speak to strangers terrifies me.
On top of that, I sometimes have complete breakdowns where I'm not capable of anything, even working on my projects. It means my productivity is very up and down and fairly unpredictable. One day I can be up for 15 hours working away with laser focus, another, I can wake up and feel incapable of doing anything, like someone's just switched me off >.< It's a constant struggle, but I'm thankful to have my dad and to be getting professional help!
With your son, it's good that you found out he's on the spectrum while he's still young. Because my diagnosis wasn't made until I was already an adult in my late twenties, the people I've been seeing think I developed anxiety and depression as a young teen because I didn't fit in and no one noticed, so I just struggled alone and was left out. I didn't get the help that I needed to properly develop social skills as a youngster and learn how to cope with being on the spectrum.
If your son likes tinkering with mechanisms, you never know, he could end up becoming an incredible engineer when he's older :D