Can autism cause people to do things that is clearly abuse but seeing it purely as play?

My friends 12 yer old daughter who has PDD-NOS picks up my cat by his hind legs for a few seconds as he shrieks thrashes and struggles to get back up right. She also squeezes him hard until he squeels and on once occasion chased him hideously for about 1 minute then hid from him then when she walked in front of him he darted away from her. She is a very shy girl and whenever shouted at breaks down and cries uncontrollably for hours. I love her as if she were my own daughter. I just don't how to handle this situation.Can autism cause people to do things that is clearly abuse but seeing it purely as play?
That girl may not realize that she is hurting and scaring the cat and that what she is doing is abuse. She may think this is a harmless game. She may think that the cat enjoys this or that this merely annoys the cat a little.



Someone needs to explain to her that this is wrong and why she shouldn't do this. It will likely not work to shout at her or talk to her about this while she is upset and crying. It would be better to wait until she is calm and then have a calm talk with her and explain that she hurts the cat when she does those things and that she could seriously injure the cat if she does this again. She needs to be told specifically what not to do with the cat and why.



Good luck.Can autism cause people to do things that is clearly abuse but seeing it purely as play?
Your friend will need breaks and someone trustworthy to give them to her. Educate yourself for her and for that baby girl. That way you will know and understand how to cope and handle the situation and be of help to both of them.