In a Different Key

The story of the discovery of autism, and the first child diagnosed with the disorder, as well as a history of the last eighty years of progress in understanding what autism is. 

Eighty years ago in Mississippi, the first child diagnosed with autism--Donald Triplett--was born. His parents embarked on a journey to understand the mysterious and complex condition that affected their son. In the years that followed, autism remained an exceedingly rare condition, limited to the eleven children cited in the original journal article announcing the disorder's discovery. Today physicians, parents, and politicians regularly speak of an "epidemic" of autism. The rate of autism spectrum disorders has been accelerating dramatically since the early 1990s, and some form of autism is now estimated to affect 1 in every 88 American children.

In a Different Key is the extraordinary human story of the quest to understand and treat autism. It is also the definitive history of a condition shrouded in mystery and fear. National Magazine Award finalists John Donvan and Caren Zucker, whose families have both been affected by autism, have conducted over 150 interviews with top scientists, educators, politicians, therapists, movie stars, shamans, and other experts.

In a Different Key features moments of extraordinary generosity and absolute depravity, from civil rights battles to the long nights of parents wracked by guilt, isolation, and the pain of feeling they might never know who their children were on the inside. By introducing an unforgettable cast of children, parents, clinicians, and others whose lives have been affected by autism, Donvan and Zucker unearth the humanity at the heart of the scientific effort to understand and treat it. In this way, is more than just the story of thousands of autistic children, adults, and their parents--it's about all of us.