I was that kid (though I'd hit my head against walls, not punch myself), and 20 years later I can tell you that autism does have its advantages.
The suffering wasn't caused by my autism, but by society forcing me to behave in a way that was unnatural to me.
Now that I'm living on my own, able to shape my environment according to my needs, I'm not suffering anymore. I'm genuinely happy, and I've got a successful career in software engineering. And every day I experience situations where my autism helps me understand logical issues much more deeply, care for order much more (refactoring is <3), and allows me to speak out when needed.
The suffering wasn't caused by my autism, but by society forcing me to behave in a way that was unnatural to me.
Now that I'm living on my own, able to shape my environment according to my needs, I'm not suffering anymore. I'm genuinely happy, and I've got a successful career in software engineering. And every day I experience situations where my autism helps me understand logical issues much more deeply, care for order much more (refactoring is <3), and allows me to speak out when needed.