High Functioning Autism and Internet Dangers, Part 3: Realized Radicalization

In this episode we continue out look into the radicalization dangers of the internet for autistic children and youth.How do kids go from being "alt right curious" to actually joining a radicalized group?  And how does the group support these young people's needs once they are involved?The article used in this episode describes a study of young people from Canada and the U.S. who are autistic and became radicalized.In a series of structured interviews the authors elicited answers that led them to the conclusion that there are common themes in the younger lives of our subjects that made their radicalization more likely.The combination of early wounds,  missed formative opportunities and finding a fit for neurodivergence were universal among the group.The reasons for staying are varied but the commonality was that these kids felt safe and supported in their groups, sometimes even while participating in violence.Citation for article:Neurodivergence and the Rabbit Hole of Extremism: Uncovering Lived Experience Sachindri Wijekoon¹; John Robison²; Christie Welch³; Alexander Westphal⁴; Rachel Loftin; Barbara Perry; Victoria Rombos; Christian Picciolini; Catherine Bosyj; Lili Senman; Patrick Jachyra; Simon Baron-Cohen; Melanie Penner Thanks to soundimage.org for the free access to the AI generated music used in this podcast (https://soundimage.org/)