DS1 is 9 and has ASD. I already claim for DS2 and DS4, who have different conditions so I know how depressing the forms are. DS1 is high functioning. Not sure how similar he is to an NT 9 year old. He is completely incontinent at night and wears pull ups that often don't contain all the wee so lots of sheet changes. He's a sensory seeker so I do lots of sensory stuff with him like giving him trays of rice crispies or pasta to play with. He needs to have things planned in advance and struggles with change so we have a visual timetable and lots of laminating goes on. I spend a lot of time explaining what we are going to do each day. He doesn't have friends, apart from one of his younger brothers. I spend a lot of time talking to him and playing games with him to help his communication skills.
Sometimes I think I do more for him than I would for an NT 9 year old, sometimes I think I don't do more fore him, I just do different things. In some ways he is easier to look after than an NT 9 year old. He never wants to have birthday parties or even friends round for tea. He's not into designer labels or the right trainers, he's happy with a box of lego.