Autism Support Community

Hi, my son is almost 4 and has been diagnosed with autism , however I am having real difficulty excepting this even though he has been assessed by a communication disorders team, speach and language therapists, doctors etc .I know there is something wrong with my son but he seems much higher functioning than most of his peers who attend a specialist center for autistic children. Often he looks out of place with them , however when I see him with the typical children at his mainstreem pre-school he sticks out like a sore thumb. I feel so confused.I tell myself that so many proffessional people who have assessed my son have all said he is autistic and they can't possibly all be wrong, but then he does or says something and I think an autistic child wouldn't do that would they and start doubting it all over again.
I keep observing him for signs. I thought that once I had a diagnosis for him I would settle down and begin to except the situation.
He has a delay in language although he is able to speak in short sentences usually about what he sees or is doing. He can ask where something is but rarely responds to questions and cannot hold a conversation.He repeats the same things over and over quite frequently.He can sing songs and rhymes and count, knows all his shapes and the names of most objects.His speech does not not flow the way normal childrens does, often sounding like an accent or pauses at the wrong time etc
He interacts with his baby sister wanting her around all the time. but not his peers, he likes to have attention and could never be refered to as a child who does not interact although he usually goes about it the wrong way, by flapping or getting his face within an inch of theirs, grabbing them etc
He hand flaps, toe walks and repetitively opens and closes his hands. Hhe has sensory issues and a restricted diet , he has severe meltdowns and does not cope well with change, if things go wrong, if we say no to him. He will often overreact.
He can give good eye contact but this is not consistant. Likes cuddles on his terms.
Likes to play the same things over and over, watch the same dvd over and over.
He has recently started to play with some imaginary play although much of his play is a routine that has been taught and he has repeated.
Does my son sound like a typical child on the spectrum, does he sound like your child. I'd love to hear from someone witha verbal autistic child as I would like to be able to except his autism and try to enjoy him.Many thanks