Story from the New York Times, linked via another site called the Infrastructurist:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/nyreg ... wanted=all

Essentially, the attraction of trains for those with autism is being put to work to help the autistics become more comfortable in social situations, with the considerable help of a subway museum in New York. This is good PR for the subway museum in my opinion, and certainly fulfills the "education" part of many of our missions--though in a more basic way than most of us would have thought of doing. . .

This puts me in mind of the story that made national news in the U.K. in September 1991 (while I was there touring rail preservation sites with Mark Smith of L&RP, oddly enough):

"TRAIN SPOTTERS MAY SUFFER FROM AUTISM"

A real story on a semi-serious study (seemingly, like many, designed more for publicity than serious research) suggesting that "train spotters" (not just anyone interested in trains, but the chaps who take down locomotive numbers in their roster books) might suffer from a form of Asperger's, which is linked to symptoms of obsessive-compulsive behavior and social withdrawal.............. and if you become the reigning expert on London & North Western carriage door handles or which Pennsy locomotives had which numbers or paint schemes, well......................