Autism strikes about 1 in every 150 children. As the mother of one of them, I feel it's important to draw attention to this nearly invisible disability. My son was once called "spoiled" during a meltdown in public, but rather than be angry at the person's rush to judgment, I would rather educate the many people who don't recognize autism when they see it.

In addition to designing many of the products you'll find on this website, I have also written a book for children in grades K-3, to help teach them about their peers with autism. Through the story of a girl who receives a very special doll, The China Doll shows children that differences often hide wonderful surprises.

1 in 150 means there are a lot of people coping with autism. If you're one of them, I hope you will find this site useful and will help educate others. If autism hasn't yet touched your life, it most likely will in some way--in fact, maybe it has already and you didn't even realize it. Maybe that quiet girl who wouldn't look you in the eye was more than simply shy; maybe that screaming boy wasn't really spoiled after all.

Maybe it was autism.

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