The women who made America’s microchips and the children who paid for it

Mark Flores was calved with intelligence disabilities aft his parent was exposed to hazardous substances portion moving astatine a mill successful Silicon Valley.

Mark Flores sits astatine the room array drafting day cakes. At 44, helium loves to gully circles, a accomplishment he’s mastered implicit the past decennary of his life. His heavy achromatic hairsbreadth is neatly combed similar the Superman cartoon connected his T-shirt. Grasping heavy Crayola markers, helium lines up tiny circles successful rows wrong larger oblong shapes. Mark has accomplished overmuch much than his mother, Yvette, was told helium ever could erstwhile helium was calved — erstwhile doctors said helium wouldn’t beryllium capable to interact with radical due to the fact that of his intelligence disabilities.

Instead, Mark greets astir radical with a big, toothy smile, stoops implicit to springiness them a hug if they’re willing, and is speedy to reply astir questions with an enthusiastic “yeah.”

When Mark coughs astatine the table, Yvette asks him if helium needs water. “You don’t person to, Mark, you tin accidental no,” she says, her brushed brownish eyes down achromatic cat-eye glasses. “We’re learning ‘no,’” she says to maine arsenic an aside. Like her son, she’s speedy to flash a smile. Her acheronian hairsbreadth falls loosely astir her shoulders, streaked with metallic against her face. 

Yvette was moving astatine a mill successful the aboriginal days of Silicon Valley erstwhile she got large with Mark. An …

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