Margins
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
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I was born in rural Georgia, where my dad worked as a country preacher. I was kind of a misfit growing up. In fact, the bigger I got, the more misfit I became. At age 8, I got a little brother, and he was a misfit too. I dropped out of school in 10th grade, and never looked back. My brother dropped out a few years later, following in my footsteps. I've had a number of careers . . . I designed sound systems for discos. I designed effects for KISS. I designed sound systems for more bands than I could count. Then, I took up electronic game design. I worked on fire alarms and power supplies. I even worked with lasers. Finally, 20 years ago, I gave up technology to start an automobile repair business. That was where I was when my brother told some of our story in his 2002 memoir Running With Scissors. A few years later, I decided to tell my own story. I wrote a book called Look Me in the Eye, my life with Asperger's. Well, that kind of changed everything for me. I was, like, fully out of the closet and under the public microscope. Over the past decadeI've published four books and hundreds of articles. I've written chapters in a number of academic books and articles in peer reviewed scientific journals. I served two terms on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee for the US Dept of Health and Human Services, and I am on the board of INSAR, the professional society for autism researchers. Today autism is recognized as a part of human neurological diversity, conferring both disability and exceptionality. I am the neurodiversity scholar at the College of William & Mary and advisor to the Center for Neurodiversity at Landmark College. I am also neurodiversity advisor for the Livermore National Lab. Today, I have an active speaking schedule, and I'm also involved in autism research. I'm a member of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee of the US Dept of Health and Human Services, and I'm on the Science Board of Autism Speaks. My books are:
