More on Thomas the Tank Engine and autism

I've posted about autism and trains before, but am indebted to Moondog from the excellent special needs board of Mumsnet (which I was following re. Julia Hollander) for posting this link, from the National Austistic Society, about why kids with autism love Thomas. I rather vaguely thought it was all to do with systems, but the page in question is much more specific about Thomas's appeal, and why it occurs. It's extremely interesting.

Needless to say, zillions of little boys love Thomas devotedly, and it doesn't mean they're on the spectrum - I don't want anyone to read this and worry needlessly. But a health professional once told me they used Thomas as a non-official diagnostic tool, and I've been interested in this ever since, especially since it bore out what I'd observed myself a couple of times. (Picture is of Thomas at Tenterden station last year - alas, he was only visiting).