Am I working with a kid on the Autism spectrum?

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I may have mentioned that one of the kids I work with is "odd." He's a cute little guy of about four, and he rarely speaks. He engages in "parallel play" (playing next to another child, but not interacting with them), but doesn't really engage with them. His older brother (whom I have not met) has Autism. The two people he trusts the most (and the only ones he speaks with, so far as I know) are my friend's 24-year-old daughter, who has high-functioning Autism (she's a teacher's aid) and me. When he speaks, his speech is clear and fluent. Yesterday, I was assigned to rub his back during nap time. He got comfortable, with his head turned away from me, and I rubbed away. When I stopped, he turned his head toward me with a smile on his face. I whispered, "Does that mean you want more?" He said nothing but nodded his head ever so slightly. I rubbed away for another minute or two and then stopped. He turned his head toward me and smiled. I continued. After the third or fourth time, I realized we were playing a "game," repeating the same pattern over and over. We were communicating, but the communication was entirely nonverbal, as it is with horses. When it was time to wake up, he looked at a board that was next to his cot. He said, "That's a four, that's a seven, that's a one." I matter-of-factly said what I was thinking: "I didn't know you already could recognize numbers! Well, here's a nine!" He just smiled at me. Could this kid have what they used to call "Asperger's syndrome"? Later that day, I was playing in the sand with some other kids. We were discussing how wet sand generates better sand castles than dry sand. He plopped down next to me and joined our game; we were using tiny plastic shovels to fill up a bucket. And then, after a few minutes, he was gone, doing his own thing. I asked some other teachers whether they knew that this kid recognized numbers. They didn't. I'm going to keep observing this kid, "free associating" when I'm around him but never putting pressure on him to speak. I think he understands everything we say, even if usually chooses not to speak. I wonder if he would respond to music. Maybe I'll bring my "kid guitar" in today.