Are you autistic? I am.

[PurgedVoter]

64. There are strong upsides to having autistic friends

To be honest, my circle of autistic friends is small and selective so I cannot speak with knowledge of the entire range of autistic people. But on the positive side, they really do say what they think, although some grow out of it. An autistic friend however is likely to be a friend for life.
Here is the odd thing. You can joke with an autistic friend in ways that are unsafe to joke with others. They tend to understand free thinking and that not all that you say is a reflection of anything but your current thoughts. As long as you don't judge them, they can take criticism that would make anyone else slam the door and never speak to you again. As long as you listen, you can give feedback. They can be stubborn, so stubborn, but if you want the truth, they will give you their truth freely. Expect it to hurt from time to time.

I don't see a lot of my old autistic friends much these days, but I treasure them all. The world would be a less wonderful place without them. Sure, I would try to prevent it for the most part since it is not an easy life. But I think they provide a perspective and we are all diminished without perspective.