Matthew does not participate in this game. He is off in his own little world. Every once in a while he will go over and play with the other kids. He usually shows his affection towards them in awkward ways, such as hitting them lightly or grabbing their ears. He would go up behind other children in the classroom and put both of his hands on their ears, squeezing as hard as he could.
Most autistic children lack social skills.
They usually behave as though other people do not even exist. Most children who have autism do not come when they are called, and they do not listen when they are spoken to. I really think this characteristic about autistic children is really unfortunate. Autistic children are really just like other children in many ways and it is really too bad that they cannot participate in games and activities because of this disorder. Matthew was not completely isolated from other children all of the time.