I remember Brent Spiner saying that a lot of autistic kids and parents of autistic kids found that the children related a lot to "Data" specifically because of his inability to process emotions, and so the conversations with data about emotions actually helped the kids to understand feelings.
That doesn't mean you retcon data into being an autist, rather than an android.
People who had to take Ritalin back in the day see Data in their lives a lot as well. A few years ago I realized they were taking gifted kids and making them autistic to fit their narrative.
I remember Brent Spiner saying that a lot of autistic kids and parents of autistic kids found that the children related a lot to "Data" specifically because of his inability to process emotions, and so the conversations with data about emotions actually helped the kids to understand feelings.
That doesn't mean you retcon data into being an autist, rather than an android.
People who had to take Ritalin back in the day see Data in their lives a lot as well. A few years ago I realized they were taking gifted kids and making them autistic to fit their narrative.