He was charming, frustrating and ultimately lovable. But Raymond Babbitt, the autistic character played by Dustin Hoffman in the 1988 film “Rain Man,” was also a card counter.
他外表引人注目，行為卻顛三倒四，但畢竟是我見猶憐。而在1988年「雨人」一片中由達斯汀．霍夫曼所扮演的自閉者雷蒙．巴比特，也是一個很會算牌的人。

When Raymond won big in Las Vegas, a cliché was born.
當他在拉斯維加斯大贏特贏時，也為世人造就了一種錯誤的印象。

Since then, the idea that autistic people can possess unusual abilities has been lodged in our collective consciousness. The number of autism diagnoses has skyrocketed in recent decades, and The Times reported that in the United States, the disorder is said to affect nearly one in 100 children.
自此，自閉症者能有非常能力的想法深植我們集體意識中。幾十年來自閉症的診斷案例一飛沖天，據紐約時報報導，美國孩童自閉者幾達百分之一。

There can be comfort in believing an autistic child might grow up to be a savant. The real world, after all, can be a frightening and lonely place for people with autism, and many of them wind up living at home with their parents in adulthood.
你當然可以相信自閉兒長大後或許會成為專家。對自閉者而言，真實的世界卻往往終究是個令人驚恐又孤獨的所在，不少人成年後仍只能跟父母一起住在家裡。

But new efforts to integrate autistic people into the workforce seek to change that. Some employers are welcoming people across the spectrum, offering them jobs that can channel their interests and cater to their abilities.
不過目前已有許多項新的努力，設法將自閉症者融入勞動人力之中，以改變這種情況。一些雇主歡迎所有這類的人，提供能引導他們興趣及適合他們能力的工作。

A Danish company called Specialisterne is trying to lead the way. Founded by Thorkil Sonne, who has an autistic child, Specialisterne hires people with autism to serve as consultants, The Times reported. Mr. Sonne reasoned that fields like software testing could find use for autistic consultants, who often show interest in patterns and enjoy repetitive activities.
丹麥一家名叫「特殊聆聽者」的公司，便嘗試領導風氣。據紐約時報報導，公司的創辦人桑尼自己便有個自閉兒，而公司也雇用自閉者來擔任諮商員。桑尼推想，像軟體測試這種領域可能會讓這些自閉者發揮所長，因為他們經常對一些重覆性的行為感興趣，而且能自得其樂。

The company has proved especially valuable to its employees. Steen B. Iversen, who works for Specialisterne and has Asperger’s syndrome, used to have trouble keeping jobs because of his problems communicating.
結果證明，這家公司對這類員工而言特別有價值。公司一名患有亞斯柏格症（譯注：被歸入廣義的自閉症範圍）的員工艾佛森，由於有人際溝通上的問題，一直無法保住工作。

“People would laugh about me behind my back and laugh at me to my face,” he told The Times.
他告訴紐約時報：「人們會在背後笑我，也會在我面前笑我。」

Mr. Sonne has also brought Specialisterne to other countries, including the United States, where about 200,000 young autistic people will enter adulthood during the next few years.
桑尼也把「特殊聆聽者」推展到其他國家，包括美國，美國未來幾年間大約會有20萬名年輕的自閉者長大成人。

Adjusting to social situations is a skill many autistic people struggle to master, so Thomas Macchiaverna, an American teacher, put his middle school students to work at a campus coffee shop.
適應社會情境是許多自閉者難以掌握的技巧，因此美國老師麥克奇佛拉便把他中年級的自閉生安排到校園裡一家咖啡店工作。

“It’s a different avenue than the standard educational curriculum,” Mr. Macchiaverna, 27, told The Times. “It’s outside the box, which you have to be with this kind of program.”
27歲的麥克奇佛拉老師告訴時報記者：「這是與傳統教育課程不同的教學途徑，這無異於走出箱子，而你必須搭配這種教學計畫。」

His students have sometimes required nudging on basic niceties – remembering to greet customers with a smile, for example – but, overall, business has gone well. One day, the children in Mr. Macchiaverna’s class and others like it might find jobs at a major American drug store chain or a retirement organization, both of which, The Times reported, offer programs designed for autistic employees.
這些學生有時也需要在基本的工作細節上做些提醒 ─ 例如要他們以笑臉來歡迎客人，但大體上事情都還順利。假以時日，他班上的學生及其他自閉生們將可向一家美國大型的零售連鎖店或一個退休機構求職，二者都提供專為自閉症員工設計的工作計畫。

Kate Stanton-Paule coordinates a program in New Jersey for young people with special needs and tries to ease their transition to adulthood, The Times wrote. She focuses on skills they will need to find work and survive on their own, such as telephone etiquette.
時報並報導，史丹頓-包利為紐澤西州有特殊需要的年輕人整合一項課程，並協助他們過渡到成人階段。她把重點集中在他們找工作並保住工作所須技巧上，如電話禮儀。

For Justin Canha, an autistic man who enjoys drawing cartoons, Ms. Stanton-Paule arranged a job interview at an animation studio. Mr. Canha eventually landed an internship, one of several he had, and dreams of becoming a “famous animator-illustrator.”
史丹頓-包利小姐為愛畫漫畫的成人男性自閉者坎哈安排到一家卡通片繪製工作室去面試。坎哈最後得到一份見習人員的工作，這類職務他之前曾做過多次，他懷抱著成為「著名卡通插圖畫家」的夢想。

Even with more opportunities, autistic people face struggles. It took Ms. Stanton-Paule months to persuade the studio’s president just to meet with Mr. Canha.
儘管現在機會比過去要多，自閉者仍得艱苦奮鬥。像史丹頓-包利便足足花了好幾個月的時間，才說服工作室的總裁讓坎哈前來面試。

原文參照：
http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20120219/1902NYP035.pdf

2012-02-21聯合報/G9版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS 任中原譯 原文參見紐時週報二版右