When people figure that Max has autism because he looks or acts a certain way, or when people think that kids with autism are like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, they presume to know what our children are like -- which does our kids a major disservice.

There's no book for our autistic son Mickey, who is turning 20. No U.S. News and World Report ranking best vocational opportunities.

My daughter is autistic and like any emotion, for her love is a learned task. There is a great deal of heartbreak in this; imagine having to teach your own child how to love you.

Ezra, who is now 16, had a prodigious memory--particularly for dates and animation trivia--and an extensive knowledge of animals. More important, he was sweet and loving and happy. What he didn't have was friends. Or, apparently, a need for them.

On Matthew's first day of school, I combed his hair and took a picture of him for the scrapbook, hoping that someday I could say, "This picture was taken on your first day of kindergarten, just months before we cured you of autism!"