[Heartlogic-dev] Re: There is an autistic professor in Colorado, Interesting read

[Joshua N Pritikin]

----- Forwarded message from "William L. Jarrold" <address@hidden> -----

Autistics offer unique skills to IS

Story by Gary H. Anthes

APRIL 21, 1997 -
For many of us, the word ``autism'' evokes frightening images of children
shut off from the world, rocking, screaming or banging their heads. And if
we think of autistic adults at all, we are likely to picture Dustin
Hoffman playing the odd, card-counting ``savant'' in the 1988 movie Rain
Man.

While not inaccurate, those perceptions fail to account for thousands
ofautistic adults whose special ways of thinking make them quite
well-suited for jobs in programming and computer graphics. Autism often
leaves those people with poor social and communication skills while
bestowing gifts of extraordinary concentration and creativity.

Unfortunately, for every autistic person who succeeds in the workplace,
there are eight or nine who fail.

Why? It's partly bias from employers, although often the bias is
unintended. One bright but socially inept autistic programmer says of the
job interview, ``I set off every warning flag the interviewer's got. He
thinks, `Boy, I can't quite place my finger on it, but that guy is really
weird.'''

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 helped produce user-friendly
work environments for those with physical impairments. But the special
needs of those with mental handicaps aren't well-understood by most
employers.

However, it isn't necessary to consult with psychologists and neurologists
to understand the conditions under which autistics are most likely to
succeed. In interviews for a recent story on computers and autism [CW,
April 14], I asked a number of autistics what they need to be successful
in the workplace.

They say they require employers who understand and respect their social
limitations; they need quiet, stable and predictable work environments;
and they must be given very clear goals and objectives.

Teamwork isn't appropriate, they say, nor are management responsibilities.

For employers able to offer the right environment, the payoff can be
significant. In the words of one autistic programmer, ``We can offer
dramatically innovative approaches, the ability to focus on a limited
number of things for extended periods to a far greater degree than
nonautistics and, on occasion, savant-like abilities available from no one
else.''

Because autism profoundly impairs a person's ability to form emotional
attachments and communicate, people sometimes assume autistics lack
feelings. But in my interviews with autistics, I found depression and
anger often combined with a sort of gallows-humor resignation at the way
they are misunderstood, underappreciated and often humiliated.

Temple Grandin, an autistic professor at Colorado State University,
credits ``mentors'' for helping her learn how to jump autism's awesome
mental hurdles. She now calls on computer professionals to do the same for
bright autistic kids, many of whom otherwise are headed for lives of
unemployment.

Grandin tells of a bright autistic boy who recently dropped out of high
school because he was bored. ``If someone came along and plopped a Silicon
Graphics workstation in front of him and showed him how to use it, he
wouldn't be bored anymore,'' she says.

Autistic kids should be doing real programming, not ``playing with stupid
computer games,'' Grandin urges.

Listen to Grandin. Become a mentor. Hire an autistic person. Call your
state's department of developmental disabilities or More Able Autistic
People in Crown Point, Ind.

http://www.computerworld.com/news/1997/story/0,11280,3732,00.html