Looking for more information regarding Autism spectrum disorder or pervasive development disorder

[Zet1]

My 5 year old son has just been diagnosed - starting grade 1 next year - main problems social interaction, speech and emotional dis regulation. Trying to find more information and ways to help him.

[all4luv]

I cannot thank you enough for the information you've posted here.  My husband and I are about at the end of our rope. We have a son (almost 5) and no one can really provide a clear diagnosis for what's going on with him.  He's been 'fired' from 3 (going on 4, we fear) day care environments.  We are actually using some of the ideas that you've listed above.

I think the key for me is going to be - finding a place that has not only the structure he needs BUT has the willingness to work with him.  He's learning but I deplore the fact that he's uprooted every 3-6 months.

You listed a number of disorders...how in the world do you test a child for these things?  We are working with a resource teacher, a language and speech therapist, and now we're pursuing the help of yet another who comes to the house to observe and work with us.  Just y'day we discussed the Sensory Integration Disorder.  His impulsive behaviors: hitting others (although not deliberately to harm) and biting. There may be others, but these are the ones that have been most problematic.

I know you've already provided a good deal of information, but if there are any other resources that you're aware of, I'd love to know about them!  I cannot thank you enough.

[Sally44]

Obviously problems with social interaction are part of the diagnosis.  But each child will be affected differently eg. one child may not be able to recognise facial expressions at all; another child might be very controlling in their play because they don't have the imagination to be flexible and therefore want a complete re-enactment of something they have seen on TV/DVD; another child may not have the social language although they do want to play; another child may be totally uninterested in other children.  So... you need to find out what your son's social interaction difficulties are caused by, and then the Speech and Language Therapist and Educational Psychologist should put together a programme and structure for school.
For example, my son cannot find the words to interact socially.  So the SALT will teach him learnt phrases to say to children as conversation openers.  He also wanted to re-enact things alot, and couldn't organise himself in time for playtime.  So the school put together a programme (at my request), I asked them to give him the choice of two games to play, and when he has chosen which game, to give him the choice of two children to do it with.  This means that prior to playtime he is organised and knows what he will be doing and with whom.  This has had a great success and he now doesn't need that structure all the time.  He also has access to dinnertime clubs that the school has eg. lego club, drum club, IT club.  My son goes to a mainstream school that has experience and expertise in autistic spectrum disorders.  Every class has around 5 children on the spectrum.  My son is in a class of 18 children with one teacher and 3 teaching assistants.  He day is highly structured with visual timetables and he works through his work independently after he has been given one to one support to ensure he understands what he should be doing.
Speech is another part of the diagnosis.  You need a speech and language therapist to assess all aspects of his speech and social communication because there are alot of different things that can impact on his ability to communicate.  If you find the school does not do a thorough one, you may need (as I did) to find a private SALT to do one for you.  But you need to be sure they have experience of ASDs and also of Educational Law.  He needs his receptive and expressive language assessed as there is usually a big difference.  Does he have echolalia?  Does he have Semantic Pragmatic Speech Disorder?  Does he have Central Auditory Processing Disorder?  Does he have Dyslexia?  Does he have Auditory Memory Retrieval problems?  Does he have Sensory Integration Disorder, Does he have poor Theory of Mind, Does he have Executuve Function Disorder,  what is his Cognitive Ability?  Unfortunately the more 'disorders' you discover the more support the child gets as it proves they have severe and complex needs.  You will need to be aware of all these conditions and which you think affects your son and you will need to put in writing that you want the SALT/Ed Psych to assess for them because you think he has this disorder/difficulty.  
Emotional difficulties are also part of the diagnosis.  The best way I heard it explained was if you imagine a shower cubicle and the water is the emotions and the cublice contains those emotions.  For most people the emotions are contained within the cubicle and therefore their emotional reaction is in proportion to the trigger and they can get it under control relatively easily.  For someone on the spectrum it is like taking a shower without a cubicle.  The water goes everywhere.  Their emotions affect bigger areas of their brain and they cannot stop it or keep it under control.  Afterwards they are usually mortified at their behaviour and think themselves bad.  But at the time they are totally overwhelmed.  The school (with the help of professionals such as Specialist Teacher, SALT and Ed Psych need to teach him to recognise his emotional state in himself and others and to teach him ways to calm himself down and coping strategies.  This can take a lifetime to learn, and even adults have great difficulties with meltdowns in public places if things don't go to plan.  Look at Sensory Integration Disorder as well, as this is also usually tied in with getting over stimulated.