Are autistic professionals under represented?

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Most people probably wouldn't be open about it because of the stigma, not just around autism but any "mental health" type condition. It reminds me of where gay people were 20 or so years ago - in all kinds of professions but nobody wanted to talk about it. I bet there are aspies in more kinds of jobs than people realize.

I didn't tell anyone at any jobs I've had that I am autistic, aside from a few people I worked well with at my previous position. They didn't react negatively; they actually tried hard to get to know me better and said I was doing well with social things.

I'm sure many of us haven't been diagnosed or just don't tell anyone, because we seem to be functioning okay so "why bother to tell anyone" is the general attitude, I think. I definitely think we should be doing more to decrease stigma though.

Either underrepresented, overrepresented or neither

The 'dominant narrative' of autism is heavily laden with myths perpetrated by powerful instutions, eg Autism Speaks, Research Institutes (both with an eye on their funding streams turning into floodlevel rivers), all kinds of media.

This DN continuously portrays AS people as: intellectually inferior/socially inferior/personally inferior - as a class of human beings who are not quite fully human. As "other".

The rule of Dominant Narratives is not that they have to be true. It is that "anything which challenges the dominant narrative must be suppressed, excised, excluded, drowned out, ridiculed, ignored".

Until AS people become more focused on challenging the DM in effective ways, rather than largely waiting for sympathetic NTs to do it for them, exclusionary tactics will continue. AS people have the power to bring about change, I believe, though largely lack the knowledge of how to use their power effectively, rather than give it away, ie surrender to the force of the dominant narrative (which some internalise, and defend - which is taking the path of least resistance). One can understand why they do this; however the path of least resistance is usually the most costly to any person who goes down that road in the long run, it's a passage to despair and loss of personal agency, and this is one of the drivers of the tragically high suicide rate in the overall AS population.

The bias in representation of AS people as a whole, and its impacts and possibilities for change is a topic very dear to my AS soul.

In my field (theoretical physics/mathematics/IT) I see probably more people with strong AS traits than without them.
Most of them have never been diagnosed because their problems were never prominent enough to seek any diagnosis apart form maybe depression every now and then.
They "fly under the radar" and don't show up in the statistics.

Indeed a lot of workplaces have become much harder for autistic people to work in than they used to be.

One of the worst offenders is the "open office" floorplan fad. Back in the old days, engineers, programmers, etc. had their own desks and worked in cubicles. Now the fad is for everyone to sit together around cafeteria-like tables.

Open space offices are evil, not only for autistic people. You just can't focus on work there!
Simple rooms for 2-6 persons are relatively common here and they are much better.

Personally, I'm fine if people compare me to Temple Grandin! She's cool. Then again, maybe because I'm in academia I feel differently. I met her once when I was an undergrad. She gave a seminar about her work. I was so excited to meet her I went up to the front of the lecture hall afterwards, and only when I got to the front did I realize that I had no idea what I was going to say. So we just exchanged some silence and then I asked her to sign my planner, and she obliged.

It's hard to express the impact her writing had on my life. My parents had started reading her books and it changed their treatment of me dramatically. Suddenly the goal wasn't to 'normalize' me anymore. It was to just let me do my thing and get over the functioning hurdles I encounter along the way. It helped them, especially my mother, to stop seeing me as the low-potential offspring.

I'd have to agree.

I wouldn't mind being compared to Temple Grandin. She invented some great things which has helped in treating farm animals more humanely.

I say if you feel safe, and you want to do it, it seems worth seriously considering. I'm interested in how that works out for you. Maybe I am overreacting a bit myself. I have to wonder if part of the reason people in academia are always talking about ASDs is because they are all secretly wondering if they are on the spectrum themselves. We are a giant herd of the world finest insect nerds in my department, after all.

I personally do not like her as a person. Sorry, I'm going to bend over and kiss someone's ass just because other people like them. I find her both a hypocrite and a traitor. For one, if she likes animals so much, why doesn't she promote veganism in addition to creating devises that make their slaughter more "humane"? Also, she sides with Autism Speaks. If people must compare me to someone, I wish it was Joy Adamson, she's suspected of being on the spectrum.