It's hard to say at this point. From what I know about signs of autism and from what I've picked up about "normal" habits for kids roughly his age, it is a possibility. If you want to know for sure, you should call your doctor or an early intervention specialist to have him looked at and get going to an answer of yes or no.
It could be that he has some thing else. The lack of 2 or 3 word phrases is something that would really need to be looked at if nothing else.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.