Agreed. Therapy can be helpful too. To some degree they can learn social skills, such as empathy, and they can learn what not to say in social situations.
Allowing a kid like that to play violent video games is not the answer to keeping him occupied, though it is temptingly convenient. Clearly this kid “solved” his problems by taking his cues from first-person shooter games.
The truth is, keeping a young teen with autism from playing popular online video games is cruel. This is the genre (they needn't be violent but they have to be popular) and segment of society where they can finally feel like they belong on this planet. I wouldn't dream of taking it away from them. However, there are clever conquest and puzzle style games that aren't only shooters.
Many if not all young men with autism play and enjoy online video games and in the clear world of them, can feel somewhat socially competent.
I believe we need to change the PARADIGM of educating the highly functioning kid. Academics is the smaller part of k-12. Socialization (often negative, ask any kids from the inner city) is the larger part. I'd bet this kid had no trouble at all with academics. Typically kids with asperger's are very bright, IQ-wise. We need to get them away from the social melėe and spend time getting them connected and happy in a school setting. This is working today in many private schools for autism or LD all over the country. Giving them a world in which they do fit in, and in which they can didactically learn about social skills and cues in the outside world as well.