In Praise of Autism

From The New York Times' Week in Review Staff's Idea of the Day blog:

Today’s idea: Autistics deserve better appreciation for their contributions to higher learning, one article says. And they should be recruited in information technology because they have “a preternatural capacity for concentration and near-total recall,” another says.
Health | Two recent articles suggest a sea change in attitudes toward those with the brain development condition. The most recent, in Wired magazine, highlights the hiring of autistics in information technology as one of the “12 shocking ideas that could change the world.” The focus of the brief article is a Danish entrepreneur who formed an I.T. consultancy made up mostly of people with autism-spectrum disorders, who troubleshoot software for companies like Microsoft and Cisco Systems.
Before that, Tyler Cowen, an economics professor who contributes to The Times, used the platform of the Chronicle of Higher Education to fault fellow academics for bigoted research dehumanizing autistics.