@trinsec

> Let them be themselves, they already have to suppress so many feelings in society.

I don't believe encouraging an obsession with accumulating and analysing data is healthy. That's why we created computers in the first place, so they would do that _while we could be ourselves_.

I don't think, like this person clearly does, that autism is some sort of superpower that she can exploit for whatever nefarious reasons she has. I'd rather help autistic children socialise than push them even further inside their own brains.

@josemanuel

First to make a few things clear:
I am autistic myself.
And I have a fairly good understanding of what those kids might go through.

What if they actually _like_ analyzing data and all that? Computers be damned, they're just tools, doesn't mean humans can't have a shot at it too.
Sometimes I am hyperfocused myself, then I make ridiculous lists of lists and whatnot. Waste of time? Oh, _absolutely_, you bet! But was it satisfying to me? Oh _yeah_!

They'll have plenty of time to learn how to socialize, but does that mean you need to put them in a fascist regime that only forces them to socialize and never have _fun_?

After one evening of socializing, I'll be _happy_ to have 3 weeks of no human contact. I don't hate humans, it is just that social contact is _utterly exhausting_.

Maybe try to understand _that_.

@trinsec I understand that very well. I'm pretty sure the kids like that kind of activity. What you have to ask yourself is _why do they like it?_ You said it was a waste of time. Do you really enjoy wasting your time? Or is it just a form of escapism, just like other people watch action movies or play videogames on the bus? And if it is a form of escapism, shouldn't we address the question of what are they escaping from?

I'm not a particularly sociable person. I enjoy reading, watching movies, listening to music or playing videogames, but I never do any of that as a form of escapism. To me, they are intelectually estimulating activities, never a waste of time. They make me think about stuff and help me learn new things, things that I can then communicate to other people. And that's the really fun part, even though I, _like everybody else_ (extroverts too), find social contact exhausting after a while.

> They’ll have plenty of time to learn how to socialize, but does that mean you need to put them in a fascist regime that only forces them to socialize and never have fun?

To be honest, I find it far more fascistic to force them to work their brains out for absolutely no one's gain. There's something sadistic in someone thinking that a bunch of kids permanently living in their own brains is a good thing.

@josemanuel

Reading, watching movies, listening to music, playing videogames. You enjoy them but don't see them as a form of escapism? Most entertainment is a form of escapism, even the ones you listed.

And you seem to exaggerate a lot:
> 'There's something sadistic in someone thinking that a bunch of kids permanently living in their own brains is a good thing.'

What makes you even say that? One classroom activity, and you think they're "permanently living in their own brains"? It looks like a very intellectually stimulating activity to me.

As to _why do they like it_, it is a way for them to try to create order in chaos. It is a coping mechanism. Autistic people will always have trouble trying to figure out non-verbal cues in any given social interaction. It will never get easier. This helps them.

I don't think you quite understand the _scale_ of exhaustion here after social contact. You, _like everybody else_, find social contact exhausting after a while. Yes, of course, that's normal.

But _when_ would you find it exhausting? That is where it differs. Let's talk scale: It might take 10 hours before you need a day of rest. It might take me 1 hour before I need 10 days of rest.

You're still _underestimating hugely_.