Possibly autistic 2 year old

I’m currently the lead teacher in a class with 8 two year olds. I had them all as little babies, when they were one year old, was gone for a maternity leave and when I returned I started in the 2s room so I ended up with them again. I love all of them and I’m so happy I have had the chance to be with these kids for so long.

One child in particular seems to exhibit some traits that I suspect may be autism. I’ve spoken with other teachers who also had him and they agree that he seems to have something going on. He’s almost 3, but he barely speaks at school and when he does it tends to be repetition instead of his own words. He has no interest in group activities, when we do art he just crumples up his paper or other craft. He doesn’t make eye contact. At times he will run around the room giggling for no apparent reason. He struggles with transitions often having big meltdowns where he screams and throws himself on the floor. We’ve been working on potty training but he doesn’t seem to be catching on very well and often ends up peeing all over the bathroom instead of the toilet. When asked to do something he usually behaves as if he has no idea how, even when I know he’s been taught how by myself and others.

I haven’t brought up the autism conversation with his mom, partly because since I’m not a mental health specialist I worry it’s not my place. When I have brought up some of the concerns she tends to laugh it off and say oh that’s just how he is.

What I’m wondering is what I can do to help this child. He’s sweet, he loves being held and cuddled and I feel bad that I don’t have the time to be one on one with him as much as I’d like.

Part of my concern is that his behaviors are becoming disruptive and hurtful. Recently when he starts running and laughing, the other kids get riled up and following him, which leads to someone inevitably falling and getting hurt in the classroom. On the playground he likes collecting rocks and lining them up, and one day a child took one of his rocks. He screamed at them and attempted to bite, but the child had a thick coat on which prevented it. But I could tell he bit down very hard. Another time a child took his toy and he bit them so hard that it drew blood. Just this week, he thought another child had taken his art paper when they had not, and he put his hands around the child’s throat. I stopped him immediately but was surprised by this as I’ve never seen him do that before.

Of course we do work on saying “no, mine” or calling a teacher for help, as well as teaching that we ask for a turn instead of just taking stuff. But his reactions are quite a bit bigger than the other children’s.

I’ve never worked with a child with autism before, which if he does have it, I want to learn how best to support him. He’s a sweet kid and I want to do my best for him.

TIA