[fragmede]

> it requires effort from everyone.

Yeah, but it doesn't require the same amount of effort from everyone, and neurotypical children will eventually get it. It takes an order of magnitude more effort for children with ASD and in the most extreme cases, they simply can't.

It's like red/green colorblindness - some afflicted eventually manage to tell the difference between the same shade of grey, but for normal sighted people, the number inside the circle of colored dots is blatant and obvious, and requires no studying of the picture.

There are children with ASD that are highly-functioning and if they manage to get good grades, it's possible for them to escape notice. However, there are those for whom social situations simply don't make sense, and no amount of effort, self awareness, or peer feedback can enlighten them.

[itronitron]

A more analogous vision example would be the ability of people (especially children) when not wearing glasses to force focus which requires effort and temporarily decreases their ability to keep eyes in alignment (if they have amblyopia or strabismus.)