By BENEDICT CAREY and JOHN MARKOFF
c.2010 New York Times News Service
LOS ANGELES – The boy, a dark-haired 6-year-old, is playing with a new companion.
The two hit it off quickly – unusual for the 6-year-old, who has autism – and the boy is imitating his playmate’s every move, now nodding his head, now raising his arms.
“Like Simon Says,” says the autistic boy’s mother, seated next to him on the floor.