Autisim and technology?

[gebraroest]

I been reading an article how the tech culture, and technology appealing to autistic people, the article didn't really go into why technology, or jobs with technology attracts autistic people, could anyone explain this for me?
Thanks!

 

[Sabertooth]

Most people with ASDs have intense (but typically narrow) interests. And not all of [us] in technical disciplines. Those of us on the Aspergers end of the spectrum are not hindered by cognitive delays that would additionally work against us. We [that are techies] seek technically-oriented work, because that is where we are most naturally gifted and have experienced the most success that (hopefully) might compensate for our quirky characteristics.

An example:

Before I had technical training, I took a few jobs as restaurant dishwasher. This wasn't beneath me, but I never got fast enough to keep these kinds of jobs. And there were people waiting in line to get hired who might be. I would get bad reviews and fired which would play havoc on getting further work anywhere else, because I would be perceived as stupid, lazy or both.

After tech training, I have had a moderate degree of success, even getting one of my previous employers, Motorola, a patent for which I am the sole inventor. It turns out that the qualities that make me a good programmer/technical analyst (attention to detail, for one) make me a less-than-competitive dishwasher. This is very hard to explain at interviews, if I don't get screened out by having so few references in the first place.

So now, I stick with jobs that are a closer match to my skill set, even if it means being underemployed. Presently, I deliver three different free papers (about 500 of each) to local residences and businesses and maintain subscription details on a database. By sticking with this strategy of selectiveness, I am able to hold onto my job longer (such as it is) and, hopefully, have a good reference from it.

 

[AdamKane]

What sort of invention is it?

 

[Sabertooth]

What sort of invention is it?

It is a number of improvements to the cellular phone headset. The main one is to be able to answer/hang up a call by placing the boom mic down or up. Other headsets have an inline button of some kind. This is more intuitive. Details are here.