What's with these Nerds?

Noel Murray at the AV Club tries to separate out autistic tendencies from nerd stereotypes, and talks about the way pop culture representations of autism are leading to better understanding and acceptance in the world at large:

The key to the success of all of these characters is that the people who’ve brought them to life haven’t stopped at a costume or a funny voice. They’ve looked for the humanity, and haven’t treated these characters as unknowable, mockable weirdoes. And don’t think it hasn’t made a difference in the way real people understand and appreciate what it means to be autistic.

You can read the article here: The Changing Face of "Nerds" (and Autism) in Pop Culture

Murray's earlier article about the subject five years ago is also very good (if not better), and is here: Rain Man Revisited