The chatbot can help rehearse communication skills and for some provides a resource to turn to when life is tough. “A lot of autistic people have grown up being told that they are aliens, or that they sound like robots, or there’s just something wrong with them,” Young says. When ChatGPT came along, they “quickly realized that it kind of sounded like I do”—logical and specific. Autism affects people in many different ways and individuals can have varying needs. ChatGPT may not work for some or even most, but a common feature of autism is that social interactions can be difficult or confusing.
