Written by a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, this is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within. With disarming honesty and...

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a stray baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter. But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific...

A groundbreaking book that upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differently. What is autism? A devastating developmental disorder, a lifelong disability, or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all of these things and more -- and the future of our society depends on our...

This guidance document has been developed to assist school district personnel and families in becoming familiar with the wide range of characteristics and abilities of their students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and in applying Colorado's new eligibility category of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to identify students eligible for special education services. Schools have experienced a steady increase in the number of students with autism...

John Robison longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits had earned him the label "social deviant." No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent evenings drunk. No wonder he gravitated to machines, which could be counted on. His savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing...

In his bestselling memoir, Look Me in the Eye, the author described growing up with Asperger's syndrome at a time when the diagnosis didn't exist. He was intelligent but socially isolated; his talents won him jobs with toy makers and rock bands but did little to endear him to authority figures and classmates, who were put off by his inclination to blurt out non sequiturs and avoid eye contact. By the time he was diagnosed at age forty, he had already...

Over the past two decades, Colorado's identification process for students with Significant Identifiable Emotional Disabilities (SIED) has undergone a number of revisions. Such changes have contributed to a lack of clarity on the part of educators around criteria, assessment, policies, and programming. A primary purpose of this guidebook is to provide a practical resource that contributes to the consistent identification of students with emotional...

Set in an alternate Victorian England where mediums control the dead, sixteen-year-old autistic transgender boy Silas must expose a power-hungry secret society while confined to a cruel finishing school designed to turn him into the perfect wife.

A father shares his autistic son's story and offers inspiration and advice for families facing similar challenges. Like any other teen boy, Austin loves pizza, movies, dancing, and girls. But unlike most other eighteen-year olds, he has a rare brittle-bone disease, was locked in a mental ward as a child, and is autistic. Yet Austin doesn't let any of that stop him.