A New Perspective on Autism

Recently I read a couple of great books with a highly intriguing theme. The author, William Stillman, who himself has been diagnosed with a mild form of autism, writes about the current (and virtually unexplainable) explosion in cases of autism in children over the past couple of decades. Mr. Stillman is a behavior specialist who throughout his career has provided counseling and support to hundreds of parents and caregivers of autistic children and adults. In the course of his contact with these individuals, he began to notice a surprising trend—a large percentage of the children he met appeared to have special abilities. Many of them reported that they speak regularly with deceased family members, most often grandparents who passed on long before the children were born. Some appear to be able to communicate telepathically with animals, while still others routinely predict future events, much to the astonishment of their parents. Mr. Stillman’s research in this area has raised some fascinating questions—how do we account for the huge increase in autism? Is it possible that these children have arrived now, at this particular point in history, for a reason? For more on this amazing topic, check back here later this month, or track down Stilllman’s books, Autism and the God Connection, and his most recent, The Soul of Autism.