I may be an oddity but I can assure you that emotional relation through contact has significant deep sources, causes and effects on one's mind. It was like going from 2D monochromatic vision to 3D trichr. And in my case it wasn't a smooth transition and caused me deep anguish to say the least. When I see documentaries about autistic childs, the way they express anxiety and hit themselves, I can't help but to think about my own past issues. Hence my question.
The autistic condition forms a spectrum. Children that you might have seen in the documentaries could have had a severe form. For what I care, anxiety is not something necessarily related to autism as emotional people feel anxious too.
That being said, I have to admit that autism gets somewhat easier with age because of increased general tolerance and endurance in individuals. Small children need close contact and may even die (in the first days of life) without, even with the basic needs taken care of.
