subject: The Dream Job Of This Generation [print this page] In the life of a 15 year old boy who suffers from mild autism, what could be better than to get paid for playing video games all day long. He would like to do that right now, he wouldn't care if he didn't get paid. School is just something you have to do while waiting to get home on and hop on your system.
This has been an ongoing battle between the two of us for many years. I have tried everything to limit his play and find more physical, emotional and human connections for him. He does fairly good, and puts up with my endless new ideas to get him out of the house; karate, gymnastics, service clubs, working at the local food pantry, scouts, camping, hiking and biking. He endures these activities with the game always in his mind.
He has lost his DS on numerous occasions when I have awoke in the night only to find him under his covers playing a game at two in the morning on a school night. You would think he would learn, but the call of the system is stronger than consequences he might face. A risk he is willing to take.
The gaming world is a safe world for those that don't necessarily understand social cues or how the interaction between people is supposed to work. It is especially safe and secure for those that don't have many friends and like to avoid social interaction. I can take him to a gaming store and immediately find "his people". I feel like the alien, the outsider. I don't speak their language, I don't have any idea what they are talking about and furthermore, I don't care. This is how life is for our son in every other setting other than the gaming world. I call it the purple world. "Come on son, lets go to the purple world", and out the door we trot to some game store or another. I am glad he has it, even if I continually try to keep it at a minimum.
So, for a "gamer" like our son, becoming a video game designer or tester might not really be such a bad idea after all.
