Newly 'diagnosed' Autism

[mels66]

Hello, my step son aged 9 has just recently been diagnosed with being "on the Autistic spectrum". Thats it! Thats all we got in the letter along with a leaflet for a parenting course that takes months to get on.
We have been saying that he isnt coping at school since he started and he is currently in year 4 working at year 1. The school have been really good with him and he has alot of extra help etc and we are trying to get an EHCP as we speak.
My question really is, how do we get help as parents to discover how he learns, what makes him tick? Or do we just carry on learning as we go and hoping for the best? To all intents my son appears like any other child except for the fact most people think he is alot younger than he is, however when you get to know him you can tell he doesnt process stuff in the same way as others of his age, I am maybe wrongly assuming that he his high functioning
I am sorry for long post but wasnt sure what I wanted to say really....just help!

The letter you have been given is woefully inadequate. Im part of a diagnostic team. My NHS reports run to about 15 pages and private ones roughly 35. You should go back and ask for a better description with recommendations.

Sound similar to what I got, diagnosis was informed to me by phone (no mdt meeting) and then a one page letter and a leaflet with some support numbers most of which were out of date. I think you're just expected to get on with it yourself, I've had more help from boards like this and some fb groups I joined than real life.