Is Troublesome Behavior In A 3 Year Old Normal?

My toddlers Dr just brought up the possibility of autism. I have read up the symptoms of autism online and although I see where my child does not interact well with unfamiliar people he doesn t seem to fall under the category artistic in my opinion. The signs of behavioral problems i do see is that he repeatedly does thing that he knows he s gonna get in trouble for and does it as if he is wanting attention even tho he gets plenty of attention from my fiance and I. It seems as if he would rather do something that he will receive negative attention for rather then do activities that we have arranged for him in order to have a good time. Is this typical 3 yr old behavior or us this a sign that something s not right?