I don't think they could feel lonely. they seem to be in their own little world and emotions aren['t a big part of that at all. an autistic kid can't fake liking someone or love for that matter. this is what makes my niece so special to me. i KNOW she loves me because there's no faking that. everyime she sees me pulling up her driveway, she greets me at the door with a big smile, all excited and yells, aunt sylvie!! then gives me a hug and says i love you aunt sylvie just out of the blue, whenever.
autistic kids all have their different quarks (if we can call it that). my niece's thing is to dance and sing. she'll do that all day long. when she gets upset, she bites her hands or hits the side of her head with both fists closed. calming her down when she's "in a mood" is really really hard to do.
I had no idea what autism was nor did i ever had to deal with that until she was diagnosed with it. she'd had seizures since she was a tiny baby also. that's another disability on it's own.
