Auties--would like to hear from you about this

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No two autistics are the same, and I carry a home-made, adapted version of the Autism Alert Card as much of the original doesn't apply to me. Some documents on autism describe me exactly and others seem to not describe me at all. Good luck with creating a book specifically about your son
I don't have abnormal amount of sleeplessness and I'm never that violent or destructive but I am an Aspie not an autie (just one who doesn't believe there is a meaningful difference between the two terms)

See the link to the story in my sig (i know, promoting but i hope it helps)

This, this is a hard one.. and i'll go with something else first.

I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, result of an unprovoked assault a few years ago, I know what a lot of people think when they hear "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder", solider back from the war who's liable to kinda freak out and suddenly start hurting people having flashbacks of whatever trauma happened during combat that got them PTSD.

I have had NO incidents of Violence outside of deliberate use of force during sparring in Martial arts practice, Ever.

Do i feel like lashing out, do i sometimes when the PTSD gets at its worse feel Incredibly threatened and frustrated, oh Yes, Always.

This is what it comes down to and i hope it helps, no matter what condition you have. is the choice you make in response to that.

I could, with the immense frustration and terror of suddenly finding that im 'lost' i cant remember where the bus stop is, what bus to catch, what im meant to be doing, harm another.

I chose not to, because part of me knows the person who's walked past and is now behind me setting off my "threat" radar. is in no way interested in, or hostile to me.

No instances of self-harm, a couple of near meltdowns that i managed to get to a quiet place to avoid, the same destructive outburst as any six year old, intense anxiety yes, sleeplessness. nopes i sleep like the dead.

part of the problem we have as autistics i think is, there is only "lower functioning autistic" and "higher functioning autistic", in real life there's not yet a 'degrees' (a scale of sensitivity).

when we say lower func autistic, most people, think rainman or simular, when we say HFA, most people dont know what we mean but hear autistic and so think rainman.

autism is VERY complex and even at the genetic level apparently unique to each individual, sadly, portraying only the most sever most different kind of autism is what brings charities and authors cash, so in the end we're left with two "identifiers" to try and describe a thing that has a spectrum as its basis.

the outbursts, etc are usually a result of more than one factor going on inside the individual, which is dominant, fight or flight, how dominant is it, how much external stress is going on, is it the type of stress thats high impact in this particular case.

Its a more complex issue than usually conveyed or sadly, usually educated upon.

Do i have the traits? yes, is the outcome identical to everyone else who has the same traits to the same sensitivity as me, no.

Honestly I don't think you're going to find many. I have everything listed, and I am high functioning.

I think behaviours are often a reaction to environment. I think ASDs are better described by what is going on in the head than by the behaviours one displays. I think any kid (autistic or otherwise) could have those behaviours in a stressful enough situation. The thing with the autistic spectrum is that one's tolerance to stressful things is greatly lowered, and hypersensitivity means that one is stressed by things that wouldn't stress non-autistic people (such as being in a room with long-life lightbulbs, and a lot of noise). For myself, as an adult with Aspergers, it's about becoming self-aware and reducing the stressors in my environment. As a kid, I had all those behaviours you described, but it did depend on the environment. No one knew anything about Aspergers back then, so I was just seen as a problem child. If people had been able to understand and know what was triggering my response, they'd have been able to adapt the environment to some extent and those behaviours would have been lessened.

Never self-harmed, never had 'destructive outbursts' - to get a physical reaction out of me, you have to really get in my face and push all the buttons repeatedly over time, and I wouldn't think that kind of intentionally provoked reaction would count.

Anxiety I have in spades, intense and near-constant, sometimes incapacitating.

Sleeplessness, too. Can't shut up the internal monologue unless I drug the bastard unconscious.

I'm HFA and I take care of myself, and I'm not a burden to anybody. I was determined to live an independent life, and look where it got me, today.

I am 50. My self harm is minor, and heals within a few weeks. I get hurt while playing because I play hard. All my life, one ever noticed, or if they do, they didn't comment on it. It is not a problem.
My meltdowns are not violent. They never have been. They involve a lot of sadness, crying and confusion. I never allow myself to meltdown in public. I may end up in the restroom for a while, until I get my emotions under control. It is not a problem.
My outbursts are anger and confusion. I yell and get out my frustration. It is not destructive towards anyone. Apologies usually correct any damage done, or in many cases, I receive the apology. It is not a problem.
I have insomnia, but so do NTs, This is not a problem.

I hate to say it, but sometimes I do these things. I don't do them as often as I used to though.