People with autism expressed loneliness and a desire for better social interactions when they wrote about themselves.

The authors of this article read seven books written by people with autism about themselves (autobiographies). The book authors had a range of social communication skills; three of them used facilitated communication. The people with autism said that they were aware of their own social difficulties. They wrote moving passages about feeling lonely. They described how they tried to reach out to people, and sometimes failed. The authors of this article think that people with autism may very much want to make social connections, even if it seems like they are not interested during therapy. The article authors feel that therapists and parents should be aware that people with autism may have a strong desire to connect with others.