It looks to me like it's the other way aroynd. Low IQ autists are drawn to anime as a result of society rejecting them. The simple animation and storytelling style appeals to them because they can understand it, waifufags just apply this to women as well. They can't comprehend the complexities of a real person, very few real women would even want them in their current states, and putting in effort to improve yourself is hard. It's easier to stick with the bright pastel colors and never grow up, a waifu is simple, formulaic and predictable, and if the story takes an unexpected turn they can just say their waifu is different from the on-screen counterpart and retain autistic control over that little tiny facet of their life. Notice how it's always the most generic, tropey characters that get waifu'd
