As I was thinking about what it might be like to find out your child has autism I wanted to get some real experience. My mom's friend has a 12 year old with Aspergers syndrome. I was able to talk to her and see what it was like when she first found out. She said that she really didn't know anything about it before jimmy  was diagnosed. She said she was confused and definitely in denial. She said the first thing she did was go to the library and get all the books she could find on it. Her and her husband read about it and talked about it and kind of decided on a game plan. He was in third grade and they scheduled a meeting with the intervention therapist to go over where they go from here. She is very much a planner and it helped her to feel secure to know that there is a plan. I think this is probably a common feeling. He was set up with time in the resource room with the intervention specialists. He was a loud some modifications in the classroom but the biggest things that they worked on was getting him set up in boy scouts. He wasn't originally interested in it but his teacher suggested it to help with social problems. He was having a hard time making friends and she thought this might be a way to make some friends. He was able to make some bonds with the kids but he still struggles with making friends.