Autism

I have long believed that Autism Spectrum Disorder (Autism or ASD) has a strong emotional component to it.  It is a complex disorder.  I do not claim to fully understand it. But I do know that all of the people who I have worked with and all of the people who I have read about who have Autism, show the same signs as people who are really past their limits emotionally.  This article, https://www.yahoo.com/health/16-people-with-autism-describe-why-1361708267716662.html talks about the difficulties that 16 different people with ASD experience in making eye contact.  Every, single one of them talk about it in emotional terms.  This is because when you make eye contact with another person, you are seeing their humanity, with all of its triumphs and failures, right there in their eyes.  It's an inherently emotional experience.  But most of us, those termed "neuronormal" or "neurotypical" by the Autistic community, have the ability to process the emotion that we receive from making eye contact.  It is my belief that people with ASD do not have the necessary skills to process their emotions.  Because of this, they are easily overwhelmed. The result of which is to stop making eye contact.

I have heard of places where people with Autism are taught to make eye contact because it helps them to succeed in the world.  This is a mistake.  It will just cause them to have more emotion that they have no ability to process.  What should happen, in my opinion, is that they should be taught to express the emotion that they feel when they make eye contact.  If this were to happen, they would be able to make eye contact and not feel overwhelmed by it.  It may also put them on the path to overcoming their disorder.