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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Israeli Army Unit That Recruits Teens With Autism
TEL AVIVFor eight hours a day, E., 21, sits in front of multiple computer screens, scanning high-resolution satellite images for suspicious objects or movements. As a decoder of Israels complex and often heavily civilian battlegrounds, hes been critical in preventing the loss of life of soldiers on the ground in several different situations, his officers say.
For many people, combing through each millimeter of the same location from various angles would be tedious workbut E., who is on the autism spectrum, describes the job as relaxing, like a hobby.
E. (he requested his full name be withheld to comply with army protocol) is a corporal in the Israel Defense Forces Visual Intelligence Division, otherwise known as Unit 9900, which counts dozens of Israelis on the autism spectrum among its members.
The relationship is a mutually beneficial one. For these young people, the unit is an opportunity to participate in a part of Israeli life that might otherwise be closed to them. And for the military, its an opportunity to harness the unique skill sets that often come with autism: extraordinary capacities for visual thinking and attention to detail, both of which lend themselves well to the highly specialized task of aerial analysis.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/01/israeli-army-autism/422850/
I love this idea. Everyone wins.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)Given high enough scores on particular skills, a lot of other deficits can be overlooked.
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)As hackers*, they employ all sorts of people who are great with computers but suck in everyday-situations. They can hack a system in no time, but cannot get their lives together to actually study IT and get an official degree and a regular IT-job at a regular company. And I bet, a few of those are also on the autism-spectrum.
* Don't worry. The company employs these hackers to test the safety of their own products.