sat down with one of our favorite science writers

Meet the First Autistic Presidential Appointee Alexis C. Madrigal Oct 6 2010,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], 1:37 PM ET Tweet More Email Print Ari Ne'eman, the first autistic Presidential appointee, sat down with one of our favorite science writers, Steve Silberman,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], to talk about his political role and his brain. It's not your average interview as Silberman and Ne'eman explore how to deal with the reality of "neurodiversity." It makes great companion reading with our October magazine story, "Autism's First Child."Ne'eman's deliberate use of the phrase "the autistic community" was more subversive than it sounds. The notion that autistic people -- often portrayed in the media as pitiable loners -- would not only wear their diagnosis proudly, but want to make common cause with other autistic people, is still a radical one. Imagine a world in which most public discussion of homosexuality was devoted to finding a cure for it,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], rather than on the need to address the social injustices that prevent gay people from living happier lives. Though the metaphor is far from exact (for example, gay people obviously don't face the impairments that many autistic people do),[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], that's the kind of world that autistic people live in.Now,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], as the first openly autistic White House appointee in history -- and one of the youngest at age 22 -- Ne'eman is determined to change that. In December, he was nominated by President Obama to the National Council on Disability (NCD), a panel that advises the President and Congress on ways of reforming health care,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], schools, support services and employment policy to make society more equitable for people with all forms of disability.Ne'eman spoke to Wired.com in July in his first interview with the media since his appointment.Read the full story at Wired Science at Wired.

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