Autism Simon Baron Cohen

Simon says: “Autistic people have a strong need for predictability, it’s how they best process information, but the world of people is unpredictable. You wouldn’t know how a conversation or social interaction might unfold, or how others will react to what you say.

People with autism can learn how to make social interaction more predictable

Autistic people can just as easily excel as musicians, chefs or tailors – at anything, in fact, that requires them to work with rules, patterns, and systems.

Research shows a link between autistic genes and aptitudes for systemising. Once a person with autism becomes familiar with a system, whether that is software, administrative or something else, they might quickly see how the system could be improved, or how a particular tool might work more effectively.

They might tweak one variable or parameter at a time, looking at what happens if they change it, whether the outcome is that the system works better.

Whereas some people might be frightened by new technologies, autistic people tend to jump in and start experimenting. This needs a lot of focus and patience, to run experiments over again, go to the ‘nth degree’ analysing the system.

Recognising patterns has been part of the process of human invention and innovation throughout history. “It was our ability to analyse and understand patterns that made humans scientific and technological masters of the planet 70,000 years ago”

This is an extract from an article written by Cris Andrews in E&T Magazine