Hi,
My younger brother has Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the Autistic Spectrum, and I'd agree that no two Autistic children are the same - the symptoms vary so much. Obviously I don't know the situation, but how can you say you used to suffer with Autism? I thought you had it for life, you just learn to deal with it? My brother Asperger's was very serious when he was younger, but as he's grown up he's adjusted to how it makes him act, and is a lot better now. My mum's friend has a kid with Down's too, and that also varies with child to child. I'd recommend maybe learning a bit of sign language, as kids with Downs often have communication problems, and signing often helps with that. Not really any info I know, but I've found it's good to know people out there who can talk about the same stuff when they've gone thru the same stuff..
x x