One of the school kids that is in the same grade as my daughter is autistic (and also absolutely brilliant on the asperger spectrum). He's had a social worker with him every day, in class, attending to him every day of his public schooling. (This is one reason why private schools do so well and cost less. Imagine spending $60K+ on one student per year.)
His social skills are still not great, with an inability to focus on someone when they are talking, as well as biting and hitting others.
He's incredibly smart though, with an ability to replay any piece of music that he just heard, and replay it on the piano. He's never taken a piano class or was taught piano in his life.
Can his trajectory still change at the age of 11? It seems like the school is doing quite a bit, but he doesn't seem to progress and still stuck in the same behaviors as he was in the second grade (first time he was in the same classroom as my daughter).
Though it sounds like he's getting all the help he needs, whether he will outgrow the biting and hitting really depends upon his own individual slice of the autistic spectrum.
My 35-year-old brother is also autistic with some incredible savant skills. During his teen years, he spent all of his free time reading maps; at one time he held much of the world's roadmap in his head. (I never use GPS; I just call him when I need directions.) However, he also struggles with severe anxiety and occasionally gets violent.
With age, he has become more aware of his shortcomings. He can control himself to a limited extent—mostly by recognizing when he's about to melt down and then removing himself to a private place where it's safe for him to explode. But he still explodes. I always wonder how improved his life might be today if he had the benefit of the early childhood therapies that are more common these days.
This sounds like what are usually called savants (historically were called "idiot savants", but thankfully the language changed) with some unique talent alongside some significant issues. It's probably likely he would outgrow the hitting and biting through various therapy, but impossible to guess much else.
His social skills are still not great, with an inability to focus on someone when they are talking, as well as biting and hitting others.
He's incredibly smart though, with an ability to replay any piece of music that he just heard, and replay it on the piano. He's never taken a piano class or was taught piano in his life.
Can his trajectory still change at the age of 11? It seems like the school is doing quite a bit, but he doesn't seem to progress and still stuck in the same behaviors as he was in the second grade (first time he was in the same classroom as my daughter).