Laurent Mottron, MD, PhD, believes that the different brain structure of individuals with autism should not be considered a deficiency.

Research reveals that many of these individuals-not just "savants"-have qualities and abilities that may exceed those of people who do not have the condition, said the director of the autism program at Rivière des Prairies Hospital in Montreal, Canada, and professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Montreal (Nature, 479: 33-35).

"Recent data and my own personal experience suggest it's time to start thinking of autism as an advantage in some spheres, not a cross to bear," said Dr. Mottron, who also initiated the Centre for Excellence in Pervasive Development Disorders at the university.

His research team, as well as others, has established and replicated the abilities and sometimes superiorities of individuals with autism in multiple cognitive operations, such as perception and reasoning. Several members of his group have autism. One of them, Michelle Dawson, is a particular success. She makes major contributions to the understanding of the condition through her work and judgment.

"Michelle challenged my scientific perception of autism," Dr. Mottron said. Her insight is the interpretation of autistic strengths as the manifestation of authentic intelligence rather than a trick of the brain that allows individuals with autism to mindlessly perform intelligent tasks. "It's amazing to me that for decades scientists have estimated the magnitude of mental retardation based on the administration of inappropriate tests and on the misinterpretation of autistic strengths," he added. A word was coined for that: normocentrism, meaning the preconception people have that if they do or are something, it is normal, but if a person with autism does or has it, it is abnormal.

There is a strong motivation for this perception, Dr. Mottron said. It is the standard rhetoric of fund-raising and grant applications. But it comes at a cost in terms of how people with autism are designated in social discourse.

"While state and nonprofit funding is important for advancing our understanding of the condition, it's exceptional that these tools are used to work toward goals identified by the autistic community itself," he said, noting that many people with autism end up working repetitive, menial jobs despite their intelligence and aptitude to make much more significant contributions to society.

"Dawson and other autistic individuals have convinced me that in many instances people with autism need opportunities, frequently support, but rarely treatment," Dr. Mottron stated. "As a result, my lab and others believe autism should be described and investigated as an accepted variant within human species, not as a defect to be suppressed."

He said science should do its part to bring back people with autism as members of the general community.