Socialization of People with Autism Through Social Networks

摘要

People with autism spectrum disorder have different levels of impairment regarding to communication, interaction, and imagination - three social skills necessary to engage in face-to-face interaction. One way to possibly overcome these inabilities is to seek for online communities where they can express themselves freely without being judged for their appearance or difficulty of eye gazing and talking conventionally. Although there are other implications to consider, as the ones related to online security or bullying, there are social skills which could be better learnt through these communities. In this paper we review this relatively new way of social organization and we discuss the current gains and possible prospects.