To begin, a disclaimer: This article is based on my very personal experience with autism. What Autism means to someone changes from person to person – For instance, regarding myself, It’s shown up as my tendency towards hyper fixations and social anxieties among other things. It’s important to remember however that Autism as a disorder exists on a wide spectrum, I simply hope with this article to give my personal experience on this matter.
With that matter out of the way, let me begin sorting my complicated feelings about my experience growing up with video games. Looking back as an Adult, I see many ways in which my autism affected me, especially around video games for both good and Ill.
The Positive
To begin with the positives, video games were the easiest way I could overcome my social anxiety. To elaborate, all of my life I have struggled with making and maintaining friends – I could hardly ever approach anyone out of fear that I would be an unwelcome presence or simply have nothing of value to offer as a Friend. Video games, however, now more than ever, are a popular subject among children and create easily shared experiences from which In my experience many of my longest-lasting relationships stemmed from. For once, my hyper fixation aided me rather than isolated me! Here was a topic in which I could consider myself well-versed and It gave me the courage to reach out and begin communicating.
Even further, In my adult life I have found some genuine true friends through gaming. The more I game, the more I find it was a sanctuary for others like me – those who struggled to connect with people and open up – and In turn, they are far more understanding of my eccentricities. Video games are one of the many sanctuaries of sorts that exist now for the Autistic, places where many barriers of communication are removed for you due to a common understanding of a shared experience.
The Negative
Unfortunately, as I look back, It’s not hard to wish I hadn’t focused so heavily on gaming. The big one Is simply that It gave me a reason to prefer home to the outside world. To elaborate, never once did I ever leave the house for any reason other than college on my own till very recently. Why would I ever need to? The outside world was scary to me – a minefield of social interactions that I would have nightmares about. Yet I never overcame this, never went to meet a friend or go to the shops because there was no necessity. I could keep myself entertained constantly without ever having to leave so long as I had video games, these worlds in miniature that I could simply indulge myself In.
It was not until I grew older that I realised I couldn’t truly trade the real world for the digital. To this day going outside on my own scares me. It is Irrational and a genuine weight on my mental health, but It’s true. And as I look back, I wish I hadn’t focused so much on this world of fantasy that blinded me to the real world. Gaming has been a genuinely magical part of so much of my life, yet through what I understand to be my autistic tendencies, I went too far and never grew not to be afraid of human interactions.
Conclusion
In the end, for all the grief It has given me, I can never truly regret loving video games. They have brought me untold Joy for so long. Many of my key memories are of seeing new trailers and the day years of waiting paid off and a game released. Yet even so, I speak of my experiences as a cautionary tale. Video games at their core are as safe to consume for an Autistic child as a good book, yet as in all things practice moderation.
If your Autistic child is fixated heavily on gaming as I was, I do have some tips. For one, conventions are a great way to bridge the gap between the screen and reality. EGX and Insomnia are two great UK-based ones to name a few and they double as great locations for making friends. Another tip is to encourage as many as possible days out for children where they can be without parental supervision for some time. Of course, you need to find someplace safe, but some good examples are board games and book clubs – There are often groups of these natures aimed at all ages (I rely on these types of groups myself to get out and about) where they can experience some more independent activities and hopefully find enough enjoyment in the wider world that they won’t simply default to video games for all their enjoyment.
Leave a Reply