I have been reading about new research on "social signatures" www.chester.ac.uk/.../22580 "Patterns of Social Interaction show limits to human relationships".
This research used students as a study group by means of questionnaire and mobile phone data, to show how people communicate with family and friends and make new acquaintances.
It found that people focus a high proportion of their communication efforts on a small number of individuals, and this behaviour persists when there are changes in the identity of the individuals involved.
Now applying autism to that, one of the problems of social communication difficulty is fitting in - if NTs can only really manage a limited circle of friends that might inform us more about intolerance to those they cannot so readily adjust to.
Also this research might better inform us on social difficulties faced by people on the spectrum, and why the general population is unsympathetic.
It would be useful if NAS could follow up on this (Moderators please....) and see whether some useful outcomes could be achieved by liaising with the researcher in the current NT population research, and perhaps getting an autism research centre like Sheffield Hallam to get involved.
