I was told over and over “why are you going to early intervention” or “he is only 2, he is just being a boy” or “he just doesn’t like people” WELL… I am glad I finally stopped listening to people around me and went with my gut feeling. So R is in the grey area of Autism so I really have no clue about children who are more on the spectrum than he is. He is very high functioning and to someone who isn’t with him 24 hours a day he will seem fine. But as the caregiver 24/7 I am the one who sees all these things. I wish I would have done EI before now. He has 3 short months with them before he turns 3 and they drop him from the program. So, our primary focus it to get him adjusted to being in social settings with more than 3 children with out freaking out or playing in a corner by himself. He was evaluated and it is nice to have someone who will work with him 2 days a week. We have been blessed to be fast tracked in the system and he has been enrolled in 2 of the groups one which is run by our service advocate. With luck they can also help get him into a good pre-school setting. Primarily for the socialization.
For our little guy being very low level autistic is not a stigma but just a small hurdle he much work to overcome. His social anxiety can be worked with now will hopefully help him when he is older. Welcome to our new adventure…
Carbonated Baby 
If ever you want to talk about very high functioning autism, not only is my younger one (now 10 years of age) diagnosed as Asperger autist but my husband also (and he’s been living a very successful life for over 45 years now). On top of that, I am a special ed teacher specializing in autism, currently in the process of building up an autism center in my area. Long story short, feel free to contact me for a chat every and any time you feel like it — sometimes, just shooting the breeze can help one feel better. Oh, and you are right, it is NOT a stigma. My not-so-little-one-anymore is doing just fine, and I wish we would have had him in intervention earlier so good on you for giving him that opportunity!
Thank you Silke, I will absolutely take you up on the chat. I am sure I will have many questions as we move forward through the process. Awesome that you are helping to develop a canter. I have heard wonderful stories of kids with Asperger and their development with the guidance of the EI program here in Massachusetts.