Part one. Understanding autism. Ask "Why?" --L︣isten --E︣nthusiasms --T︣rust, fear, and control --E︣motional memory --S︣ocial understanding --P︣art two. Living with autism. What it takes to "get it" --W︣isdom from the circle --T︣he real experts --T︣he long view --E︣nergize the spirit --T︣he big questions --A︣ guide to resources --A︣bout the SCERTS model.

Autism is usually portrayed as a checklist of deficits, including difficulties interacting socially, problems in communicating, sensory challenges, and repetitive behavior patterns. This perspective leads to therapies focused on ridding individuals of "autistic" symptoms. Now Dr. Barry M. Prizant, an internationally renowned autism expert, offers a new and compelling paradigm: the most successful approaches to autism don't aim at fixing a person by eliminating symptoms, but rather seeking to understand the individual's experience and what underlies the behavior.