Thomas the Tank Engine

Through all of my years of sifting through information about Asperger's, I have noticed a preponderance of kids that seem to become enthralled with THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE....my sons included.
The reasoning behind this intrigues me.
No, I am not saying that if a child watches or likes Thomas the Tank Engine that he/she will come down with a cold hard case of Asperger's, to the contrary. I think that the faces on the trains in the original series mimic the expressions of Aspie kids. Therefore, the Aspie kids can understand the emotions of these engines....they "live in their world."  The engines' emotions are only expressed through their eyes and mouths. They do not really use their facial muscles to show expression. To some, they may seem to not show much expression at all...just like Aspie kids.

(I am sure that it is very difficult to get a small metal train to show expression. They can be so temperamental sometimes.)

But, for those who love Aspie kids, we know that they DO experience emotions...they just don't know how to express it.

The newer episodes of the show use computer-generated animation to show greater expression in the faces of the engines. I am wondering if my Aspie sons will still feel as drawn to these shows as they are to the older episodes.

If only we could program a computer to read the emotions of our Aspie kids and then generate a computer animation of what they are feeling.
I bet it would open our eyes to a whole new world...just as magical as the Island of Sodor.