You know what? I love to hear little stories like that. Camping is so 'ordinary' for most people, but it's a big achievement for kids on the spectrum. When i got the diagnosis for my son, they gave me a whole list of all the things he would NOT LIKELY achieve, they said because he was non verbal back then he would likely not talk ever, he would never go to a 'normal' school, no job, never get married, etc etc etc - cynical, pessimistic bastards! They said i should take time to mourn for the son i will never have and that they thought i was too positive and only setting myself up for a fall if i believed in him too much.
I have crossed off half the things on the list already!! and i will keep chipping away at it.
So reading about your boy, made me smile, just a little. Good for him.
He was non verbal for the longest time!!!! And then when he finally started talking at age 3, no one could understand him until he was close to 5 and into 6 years of age. So doctors absolutely cannot predict the outcome for a child. I was told up until the age of 10, of everything he could never do in school and would never be able to accomplish and people constantly pointed out how he would never be like his peers.
He was constantly discouraged from pursuing things that interested him because it "wasn't appropriate". He was passionate about computers but was told "kids your age don't program you'll have to wait until you're older."
He struggles to hold a pencil but can type like he's on fire. So WHO CARES that he struggles with a pencil? If he can manage to sign his name (which he can) in this day and age he can type out everything else. He won't read a novel so I was told he couldn't read. But he spends hours reading online articles. Uhm..he CAN read, he just doesn't have any interest in what you're throwing at him. On and on and on it goes.
The best thing you can do as a parent is to continue to remain to be his biggest supporter and let him reach his own milestones in his own time. For me, we got to a point where the school system was doing him more harm than good (he was 10 and suicidal) so I pulled him. Any regrets? Absolutely none. But my choice isn't for everyone and I know plenty of spectrumy kids who love going to school. But the biggest point is that you will always be his biggest advocate and as long as YOU believe in him, he will reach his own potential and be just fine.
What I care about most is that my kids are happy with who they are as people and they don't have to travel the same roads as everyone else to get to where they want to be in life.