ABSTRACT
All communication is social by its definition. This is not true. Some autistic children withdraw from social situations because they are overwhelming, they are too unstructured or the child has had negative experiences before that have destroyed their confidence. Most autistic children do want to have friends, but they want friends who will accept them for who they are, who will allow them to be themselves and who are kind. Dr Damian Milton has developed the Double Empathy Theory, which explains that whilst it is true that autistic people struggle to understand social cues, social meanings and what might be expected of them socially, it is also true that other people don’t understand the social cues, social meanings and attempts at interaction from the autistic person's point of view. As Hilary pointed out, social interactions are often exhausting for autistic people.
