In a different key

In a Different Key traces the story of autism starting with Donald Triplett, the first child diagnosed in 1938, through eras of shaming families and institutionalization to today’s push for inclusion and understanding autism as difference rather than disability.

The book covers the refrigerator mother theory, parental advocacy, scientific controversies like vaccines and facilitated communication, and the neurodiversity movement, blending personal stories with panoramic history.

It was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestseller.