They auto-attract to autos, and then auto-explode?
They don't necessarily react to cars in the same way that other children do. If a child is standing in the road and sees a car coming, his natural reaction is to get out of the way. An autistic child might see the car, but assign it no more importance that the sound of a dog barking in the neighborhood or the fact that the wind is blowing. That child may or may not react to the car.
This is all because autism (real autism, not the catch-all diagnosis that some lazy doctors will apply to children that are merely high-spirited) is a defect in how the brain filters incoming sensory data. Normally, the brain prioritizes the data. We sense a great deal more than we're capable of dealing with, so the brain only passes along what's important; like the approaching car. In an autistic brain, the data all comes in without any weighting. Thus the car is no more important that any other bit of sensory data.
If true, that is fascinating. A little bit of autism might be a good thing for certain tasks. For instance, searching for evidence at a crime scene. Searching for the enemy in a combat zone. Maybe cracking codes too. Mushroom hunting, maybe.
>> And just exactly what is a driver expected to do,
>> or expected to expect the autistic child to do?
> That child may or may not react to the car.
The sign does not convey that.
Although I have a general idea of what autism is,
and that it’s a possibly over-diagnosed trendy PC
“disease”, I would not have any predictions as to
how the afflicted behave in traffic. I’m sure I’m
not alone in that.
“DEAF CHILD” would be more effective in getting
drivers to change their expectations with
respect to upcoming juvenile pedestrians.
What’s next: “A.D.D. CHILD AHEAD”?
Whoever is coming up with these signs is
frankly too close to the problem.