There’s obviously degrees of autism. People with mild autism who can function can often seem normal, if a bit awkward. I’m neurotypical but work in software development so I might have more experience than most. I tend to think of my more autistic colleagues as very good at things like database management and solving speed issues where the task requires obsession and wanting things to be just so. But I generally would build (or assign) the GUI to a person who was more neurotypical since that involves a lot of communication. Different people have different strengths and we’d live in a much worse world if that weren’t true.

Obviously, some people are severely autistic and can’t really have a typical career. I generally find people with more severe autism to be awkward to talk to but always very nice. I’ve been told by lots of people that I’m “always smiling” and I suspect that helps. Some people send the wrong signals but my default, resting “face” is apparently friendly. In high school, I was sometimes able to chat with severely autistic kids and not frustrate them.

When I was growing up, they categorized the autistic folks as severe, profound, mild, or moderate. I apologize if those terms are antiquated. I’m old and the euphemism treadmill continues apace.