>>The speaking issue is just one item of several that he has problems with. There are significant delays in several measurable areas, besides speech. It’s not just “one thing” that diagnoses someone (like a lab test and an associated number with that lab test) - but it’s a combination of several things together. It’s the “whole picture” that makes the diagnosis.
I know that. I had a number of problems too (still do today). I still shudder to think of how different life would have been if I had been labeled as autistic instead of just weird and shy and quiet and obsessive.
It’s about first recognizing it, so that measures can be taken to work with the child in the areas of significant delays. Early intervention is a key item.
The alternative - if you think someone is merely shy or quiet or just a little bit weird or a bit obsessive - is to say, “Oh well, he’ll grow out of it!”
And that’s what a lot of people do, because they don’t want to really face up to there actually being something there that you can’t ignore (even though some try) and that the child won’t grow out of.
Consider Temple Grandin and what her mother did for her and what one teacher did for her. If they had just said, “Oh well, she’ll grow out of it,” and left her alone, Temple Grandin would not be the success today, that she is. She’s a testament to intervention, to address these kinds of problems.