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It is a valid assumption but I would have expected the article to provide such details. And why would you not want to hire a socially awkward person, if I do that for my business I just want results and awkwardness doesn’t matter much in technical positions.

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Have you ever tried to hire such a person? I can guarantee you it is not as easy as you might think to get something useful out of them. Normal smart people simply can't deal with others who have severe Asperger's (or any Autism spectrum disorder for that matter). The only place I could see for those people is in a back room in some university where they get to research whatever they want with no teaching duty. But these positions are ultra-rare and you basically have to be super accomplished before you are even considered.

There are other cases, and it can be very valuable to be able to get something out of someone with a lot of technical ability but poor collaboration, but I do agree it's something that will reduce their value to most employers substantially.

Like what? And how do you get something that you want out of somebody who doesn't care or understand what you want? He may see you like a fat gorilla asking Einstein to fetch more bananas. Or maybe you can't even hold his attention long enough to formulate your desires. Most people have never interacted with this kind of Autism. In any result oriented environment where the results are governed by others, this person is essentially worthless to you.

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