Sitting issues?

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You could also try suggesting a folded blanket or towel for sitting on.

I could be wrong, but it looks similar to a yoga pose that's done sitting on a yoga brick, they are very light and easy to manipulate, and come in some very kid friendly colors if you wanted to try one of those. It takes pressure off if you sit in a modified w on a yoga block, and makes cross cross easier and more secure.

He had some kind of inflatable cushion a couple of years ago, but the school decided to stop using it. I don't know whether that's because it wasn't helping, or because he was messing/playing with it. I know some of the other kids in his class were jealous of it, so that may have been distracting, too.

This is called W-sitting (because their legs form the shape of a W), and it's associated with hypotonia or cerebral palsy. My guess is in your children's case it's due to hypotonia, since that's more common in autistic kids and can sometimes be outgrown. (CP is never outgrown, to my knowledge.)

I also W-sit due to mild hypotonia.

As for whether you should try to stop it, I say no. It's a more stable sitting position for someone with weak core muscles, and sitting more normally can be tiring and uncomfortable. Chances are, when she's sitting down doing something, her attention and energy will be better spent focusing on what she's doing then worrying about how she's sitting.

It used to be thought that W-sitting made it harder for a child to learn to walk, but really both W-sitting and difficulty walking can be caused by the same underlying motor issues. For example, kids with CP who W-sit usually do so because tense muscles force their legs outward, which also gives them an awkward waddling gait. Both their gait and their W-sitting is caused by the same underlying problem. (This doesn't apply to hypotonia - hypotonia is floppy muscles, not tense muscles.)

A physiotherapist could suggest exercises she can do to strengthen her muscles, which may decrease her W-sitting, but honestly that would not be the real goal of PT. The real goal would be to give her more strength so doesn't tire too easily while playing and is more likely to be able to do the activities she wants to do.

I w-sat for years (until I had the 4th kid and my hips quit wanting to cooperate). It was comfortable, didn't make my feet fall asleep and didn't put pressure on my bony butt.

Maybe it does damage joints, I don't know, but my personal opinion is that if it's a comfortable position for a person to sit in, then they're more likely to be able to attend to things that ARE important. With everything else an autistic kid has to learn, overcome, and control (and everything a parent has to teach them), is it really important to be the Positional Police too??

Joint damage might be a reason to correct it, maybe (not like any of us are going to make it past 55 with our joints intact anyway lol). "It makes me feel uncomfortable just to look at you" isn't.