Simon Baron-Cohen of the University of Cambridge is taking a broader view of mating habits and their consequences
In 1999, Brian Hughes, a San Antonio–based tech entrepreneur, discovered that his 13-year-old son, a brilliant boy who had nonetheless struggled socially and in school, had Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. With this revelation, his parents and teachers were better able to meet his needs, and after attending a public high school for gifted children, he followed in his mother's and father's footsteps by attending MIT and then went on to a successful career as a computer programmer.
The story might have ended there, except that shortly after his son's diagnosis, Hughes became president of the MIT alumni association....
