It is lunchtime. At a long table inside a restaurant, some young people sit together over lunch. There is less conversation than you might expect from a typical group of friends: a boy seems to talk only to himself, and a girl looks anxious.
These young people met through a program organized by the nonprofit Actionplay, where young people with autism work together to write and stage a musical. Each Sunday, they work and have lunch together. “You meet other people just like you,” says Lexi Spindel. “That was the first time my daughter had a friend,” says Lexi’s father. “That never happened before Actionplay.”
For decades, scientists have supposed people with autism don’t have or need friends. A new research is forcing a rethink of those long-held beliefs. Autistic people report they want friends. One significant barrier to friendships is common people’s opinion that autistic people are not interested in connecting with them. Appearing uninterested, however, is not always the same as being uninterested. An autistic child looking uninterested in games may in fact be overcome by the noise. And behaviors like clapping hands repeatedly are a way to manage their anxiety and uncertainty, not a sign of their low social interest.
For some autistic people, friendships develop through experimental programs. In a program Lerner developed, participants play a game called Gibberish. where teenagers must interpret each other’s intentions without using real language. The point is not to get it right. but to attend to what the other person is doing in a way that creates opportunities to connect.
Lerner’s ideas were inspired by a moment 16 years ago after he established a small camp for children with autism called Spotlight. On the second day an l1-year-old boy ran up and pulled his clothes. “Lerner, Lerner, where did you find these kids?”
“All over the place,” Lerner answered. “Everyone wants to come to camp, just like you.”
“This is the first normal group of kids I have never met.” the boy said.
72. The scene in paragraph 1 is described to ________.
A.reveal the lack of an interpersonal conversation |
B.prove the difficulty in reducing teenage anxiety |
C.stress the great necessity of forming friendships |
D.show the different behavior of a particular group |
73. What is Actionplay aimed at?
A.Curing young people of autism. | B.Developing autistic people’s taste in art. |
C.Offering autistic people a social platform. | D.Improving young people’s family relationship. |
74. What can we infer from paragraph 3?
A.Autistic people have no intention to make friends. |
B.Noise sets barriers to autistic people’s views on games. |
C.Repetitive movements make autistic people feel secure. |
D.Common beliefs cause autistic people’s low social interest. |
75. What does the underlined sentence imply?
A.He feels at ease with his autistic fellows. |
B.He no longer regards himself as an autistic kid. |
C.Lerner’s guidance helps him get out of autism. |
D.Autistic kids don’t long to socialize with normal ones. |