Who do you think made the first stone spears? The Asperger guy. If you were to get rid of all the autism genetics, there would be no more Silicon Valley.
Autism
Schools connect children to their communities. Jobs connect adults to their societies. Persons with autism deserve to walk the same path.
From a scientific standpoint, Aspergers and autism are one syndrome. Aspergers is part of the autism spectrum, not a separate disorder.
There tends to be a lot of autism around the tech centers… when you concentrate the geeks, you’re concentrating the autism genetics.
Let’s get into talking about how autism is similar animal behavior. The thing is I don’t think in a language, and animals don’t think in a language. It’s sensory based thinking, thinking in pictures, thinking in smells, thinking in touches. It’s putting these sensory based memories into categories.
I am also a believer in an integrated treatment approach to autism.
I’ve worked with tons of people that I know who are on the spectrum – but now I think severe autism has really increased.
Mild autism can give you a genius like Einstein. If you have severe autism, you could remain nonverbal. You don’t want people to be on the severe end of the spectrum. But if you got rid of all the autism genetics, you wouldn’t have science or art. All you would have is a bunch of social ‘yak yaks.’
By including children with different learning abilities in mainstream and specialized schools, we can change attitudes and promote respect. By creating suitable jobs for adults with autism, we integrate them into society.
I think the core criterion is the social awkwardness, but the sensory issues are a serious problem in many, many cases of autism, and they make it impossible to operate in the environment where you’re supposed to be social.