My lovely 5 yr old ds is giving me cause for concern at the moment, and I didn't really consider possible ASD until my neighbour asked me yesterday if I had considered taking him to the Gp because of his massive meltdowns. Her son is autistic and she has been hearing my son's tantrums about going to bed every night.
I have been googling extensively for the last 24 hours but don't know whether to take the big step of asking for an assessment.
Possible warning signs: he tantrums regularly and hits me; mostly at times of transition. He soils regularly as he doesn't feel his pooh coming out, he has been very obsessed with dinosaurs for 3 years now. I have noticed that he doesn't really understand personal space when playing with his friends and I notice they back away from him a lot in the playground. He has one very good friend in school but seems to have problems with his other friendships regularly; he says people don't want to play with him and they don't like his games. Playdates can be difficult if people don't want to do what he does and he hates having to leave or saying goodbye. His reading is average and his writing but he has poor coordination. He gets very angry and says something in his body makes him angry and his brain and heart can't stop it 
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On the other hand, he is highly empathic at home and is a lovely engaging boy when he is not angry who is able to make eye contact.
I think it is the tantrums that are my main worry - he is 6 next month so surely they should have stopped by now?
Any thoughts about whether I should take any action, or does he sound like a normal but very sensitive little boy?