One might argue that the new emphasis on sociability is precisely what autistic spectrum students require. Don’t they, more than anyone else, need to develop their communication and collaborative skills? And in our increasingly social 21st century, aren’t these skills more important than ever before — both for life in general, and for jobs in particular?

The problem is that the kinds of jobs that autistic students aspire to — for example, computer programming, engineering, writing, and the visual arts — tend not to involve the sorts of group dynamics that occur in K-12 classrooms. And the social skills training that they do, indeed, very much require are best left to trained professionals. Well-run social skills groups for children on the autism spectrum are out there — just not in most K-12 schools. —Katharine Beals (The Atlantic)