Video Gaming's Direct Link With Autism

There is a direct link between video games and autism. True fact.

I don't know what it is, and I'm not going to pretend I'm medically educated enough to hazard a guess. It's impossible to ignore the fact however, that at least once a day the shop will be visited by either:

a.) A person (usually male) between the age of 18 and 30 who suffers from autism.

b.) A parent who claims they are buying a video game for their child (usually male) who suffers from autism.

It should be noted that almost every time, those described above will ask for a sonic the hedgehog game.

A part of me wants to believe that this is a result of Sega putting subliminal messaging in their Sonic games that forces autistics to desire even more Sonic games. It would explain the sales of the 2007 abomination at least.

The real reason is probably because from birth lazy parents have dumped their children in front of a games console. Why it's always Sonic, I'll never understand. Maybe it's something to do with the the character's movement being at just the right speed so that through the mind of an autistic child (in which everything is seen in bullet time) the game appears to be at normal pace.

Then again, maybe it isn't that games are the only medium that fulfill the requirements of an autism sufferer, but in actual fact video games are the cause of autism. Anyone reading this who's an avid video gamer is shaking their head and thinking "no, not me - I can't be autistic" is secretly deep down feeling a sudden urge to pick up Sonic Unleashed on the Wii.

One day I might read a book about autism, and see if there's any scientific proof to back up my inane ramblings. Until then, I'm off for a spot of Skate 2.

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