Recently, NPR’s Morning Edition was profiling a program for autistic kids in Baltimore. The idea behind it is to teach these kids how to interact socially, often the most limited skill set in an autistic child, who is typically a whiz at math and science. They teach them how to carry on a conversation. For example, if someone says, “I like music,” an acceptable response would be, “What kind of music do you like?”
As I listened to these kids interacting with their teachers and each other, I realized how many people I have known or worked with that had the same limited social abilities. I found myself wondering if some number of these people were undiagnosed autistics. After all, it’s been fairly recent that the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder has been broad or prevalent.
I’ve spent the last decade living and working in the Silicon Valley area, and it’s not unreasonable to think that Asperger’s, the mildest form of autism, would be prevalent in a population so focused on math, science and technology. Wired even had an article about it, called “The Geek Syndrome.”
I find myself wondering how different these people’s lives would have been if they had received intervention when they were young. Would they have had a different experience as adults? Will these kids usher in a new era, where geeks don’t just hunker down in cubicles, little more than caffeine-fueled coding machines? Will they suddenly have the social skills that enable them to step outside and communicate their ideas with the non-techies? That’s the sort of thing that could dramatically change the workplace dynamic in the Valley.