heckmanm
Footballguy
I don't know how far along "the spectrum" he actually is. There's a kid (20-ish probably?) at my church who's definitely autistic and is prone to blurting out things like "It's not OK to scream real loud in church". I'm thinking maybe he does that to remind himself of appropriate behavior (although the act of reminding himself may itself be inappropriate in some settings).having proxy experience with autistic (and related) kids, animal therapy goes a long way. horses, dogs, cats, lizards, whatever. can you get him involved in volunteering at the local animal shelter?
something about the calming influence of animals seems to work wonders. might be a way to draw him out of his world a bit. and if he's doing good helping shelter pets at the same time
maybe look in to therapy pets?
Anyway, my kid, in general, comes across as a normal teenager, maybe somewhat introverted. But around family and close friends, he's a normal kid. It primarily manifests itself (from what I can see) with certain areas of academics, or when he gets a teacher who isn't sufficiently organized/logical for him.