[exolymph]

The school system needs an Official™ medical justification to grant your kid extra accommodations for whatever his behavioral issues are. They are less interested in whether he "actually" has autism than in a rubber stamp that gives them more options for managing him. Which might indeed be a good thing for your son! It's hard to say without being closer to the situation.

[polartx]

Thanks. That indeed was one of the questions I had in my mind--"what changes once a diagnosis or label has been affixed?"