Autism is in the public spotlight now more than ever as newresearch and information appears almost daily. Although in manyways this is a positive development it also presents challenges tofamilies and practitioners who want to keep up with the latestdevelopments and are left to sift through new information bythemselves to see what is credible and relevant for them.Each of usneeds a personal research assistant who can determine whichinformation we need to pay attention to and let us know how itmight affect our daily work and the children we are living with orserve.

Since we each don?t have our own research assistants onstaff, I am delighted to recommend this wonderful book by FredVolkmar and Lisa Wiesner. Both of these talented professionalleaders have combined their scientific skills and understanding ofthe field with great practical experience and ideas about howresearch can be translated into clinical practice. The result is abook that provides the best and most comprehensive informationabout recent scientific developments and a splendid practical guidefor how they are being implemented and what we are learning in theprocess. The issues are presented in all of their complexity buttranslated into language that is clear, direct, and easy to follow.The format also lends itself to understanding the complex issuesand their implications through excellent charts, question andanswer sections, and chapters that vary from describing diagnosticissues to stating very specifically how to expand and evaluate theservices one is receiving. The comprehensive references and listsof additional resources also add greatly to the overallpackage.

As a professional dedicated to understanding scientific advancesand helping families and teachers to utilize them most effectively,I am very pleased to have an ally like this book available. I amvery grateful to the authors for providing a very credible,practical, and relevant addition to our field to help the manyadvocates and family practitioners to better understand theexciting new developments and how they can be implemented in ourday to day work. Those taking the time to read through this superbvolume will find it time well spent that pays back dividends inmany different ways. ?FOREWORD by Gary B. Mesibov, Ph.D. , Professor andDirector of TEACCH, Treatment and Education of Autistic and RelatedCommunication Handicapped Children University of North Carolina atChapel Hill