Autism Heroes: Portraits of Families Meeting the Challenge

"Few have the combination of compassion, rigorous knowledge, passion for the field, and accomplishments in helping literally thousands of children with autism spectrum disorders as does Barbara Firestone. She is also an extraordinary listener, and a great observer of people, making her perspectives and collection of family stories coupled with Joe Buissink's photography extremely rich, inspiring, and instructive."
Michael O'Hanlon
Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Parent of a Child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

"Autism and Asperger's syndrome have many faces - with this wonderful book, we get to see 38 of them. Readers are treated to a showcase of different aspects of living with autism through short vignettes (organized into sections show more titled 'Dignity', 'Hope', 'Opportunity' and 'Love') and brilliant photographs by Buissink. Firestone is the president and founder of the Help Group of Los Angeles, which serves children with a variety of special needs, including autism. The book is closely tied with the group; all of the families featured come from Southern California, including actors Joe Mantegna and Gary Cole and baseball pitcher Jim Gott… An excellent entry in the literature of autism and disability; strongly recommended for public libraries and academic libraries with disability studies collections."
-Library Journal show less