Fireworks, Autism, and Animals: What \"Fun\" Noises Do to Sensitive Humans and Our Beloved Pets [Retrospectroscope]

In a previous article in IEEE Pulse, autism was reviewed, and we discovered, not without surprise, that the condition as now recognized is barely more than 100 years old. In the same article, a graphical user interface designed specifically for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was presented. Given the rather widespread custom of using fireworks as a means of celebration on certain specific days, this column discusses the potential damage of such noise to autistic children.