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Some teachers just have a knack for working with autistic children. Other teachers do not have it.

My son has autism, and I founded the government relations department at Autism Speaks.

Mum had regular mental tests with her specialist, but because of her academic background, she became brilliant at manipulating them.

As a parent with a child with autism, it's been really tough to experience your child having autism.

One in 150 kids is autistic these days. The autism spectrum is growing.

I was a loner as a child and happiest at home, launching toy rockets and aeroplanes. When I started causing trouble in my third year at grammar school, Mum was really surprised. My parents sent me to a child psychologist, who suggested I might have Asperger's syndrome.

My mother was a teacher.

My mother raised three children on her own and my dad was a doctor working 16 hours a day.

My youngest sister, Cindy, has Down syndrome, and I remember my mother spending hours and hours with her, teaching her to tie her shoelaces on her own, drilling multiplication tables with Cindy, practicing piano every day with her. No one expected Cindy to get a Ph.D.! But my mom wanted her to be the best she could be, within her limits.

I've worked with tons of people that I know who are on the spectrum - but now I think severe autism has really increased.