Tech Workers with Autism Try to Reboot

The Promise—and Difficulty—of Job-Hunting in Silicon Valley When Your Brain Is Wired Differently

How big is the gap between all the rhetoric about the value of employing people with autism and other brain-wiring differences and the realities of the job market?

You can get answers to that question by visiting the central San Jose offices of EXPANDability, an agency serving workers with disabilities in Silicon Valley. When I visited this summer, several employment projects were in full swing.

In the large computer lab, jobseekers searched Internet job boards and submitted applications. In a nearby classroom, 12 deaf young adults attended a life-skills class. …