This list is intended to be a starting point for people wanting to learn about autism. Many of the books on this list are written by an autistic person or a parent of an autistic child. Some are written by experts and professionals in various fields. Many of the books offer different (and at times conflicting) perspectives on autism spectrum disorder. There is no one book that fully describes or encompasses the experience of living with autism or raising a child with autism. We hope this list offers depth and breadth and encourages readers to develop a nuanced perspective of this complex condition.

Books are listed in alphabetical order by the primary author’s last name. Do you have a book you think should be added to the list? Let us know!

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Christina Adams

  • A Real Boy: A True Story of Autism, Early Intervention, and Recovery (2005)

Shannon Des Roches Rosa

  • Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism (2011)

Jennifer Elder

  • Autistic Planet (2007)
  • Different Like Me: My Book of Autism Heroes (2005)

Temple Grandin

  • Calling All Minds: How To Think and Create Like an Inventor (2018)
  • Different…Not Less: Inspiring Stories of Achievement and Successful Employment from Adults with Autism, Asperger’s, and ADHD (2012)
  • Emergence: Labeled Autistic (1986)
  • The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across The Spectrum (2013)
  • The Way I See It, Revised and Expanded 2nd Edition: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger’s (2008)
  • Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism (1995)

Naoki Higashida

  • Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 (2015)
  • The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism (2007)

Kathy Labosh and LaNita Miller

  • The Child with Autism at Home and in the Community: Over 600 Must-Have Tips for Making Home Life and Outings Easier for Everyone! (2011)

Ellen Notbohm

  • Ten Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew (2012)

Barry M. Prizant

  • Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism (2015)

John Elder Robison

  • Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian (2011)
  • Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s (2007)
  • Raising Cubby: A Father and Son’s Adventures with Asperger’s, Trains, Tractors, and High Explosives (2013)
  • Switched on: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Awakening (2016)

Sally J. Rogers, PhD, Geraldine Dawson, PhD, and Laurie A. Vismara, PhD

  • An Early Start for Your Child with Autism: Using Everyday Activities to Help Kids Connect, Communicate and Learn

Oliver Sacks

  • An Anthropologist On Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales (1996)
  • ​The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales (1998)

Gail Saltz, MD

  • The Power of Different: The Link Between Disorder and Genius

Susan Senator

  • Autism Adulthood: Strategies and Insights for a Fulfilling Life

Steve Silberman

  • NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity (2015)

Rudy Simone

  • Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome (2010)

Daniel Tammet

  • Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant (2007)
  • ​Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind (2009)
  • ​Thinking In Numbers: On Life, Love, Meaning, and Math (2014)
  • Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing: Encounters with the Mysteries and Meanings of Language (2017)