Both Oliver Sacks and Torey Hayden have written about their autistic patients or pupils, respectively. Temple Grandin has also written about her own life as a person with autism. Donna Williams in her books, including Autism: an inside-out approach (ISBN 1-85302-387-6), gives an interesting perspective on the experience of a person with autism and the degree to which recovery is possible. Many other people who have autism have written books on the condition (and on other topics).

Autistic savants:

The autistic savant phenomenon is sometimes seen in autistic people. The term is used to describe a person who is autistic who has extreme talent in a certain area of study. Although there is a common association between savants and autism (an association created by the 1988 film "Rain Man"), most autistic people are not savants. Calendar calculators and fast programming skills are the most common form. Some famous examples are Daniel Tammet, the subject of the documentary film The Brain Man [10] and Kim Peek, the inspiration for Dustin Hoffman's character in the film Rain Man. It is estimated that 10% of autists are savants, compared to 1/2% of other people.

Aspies for freedom:

In August 2004, a Wiki was started at Aspiesforfreedom (or AFF). Its aim is to be an Autism Encyclopedia, and indeed some content has been copied from Wikipedia. One of the core differences, however, is that all articles are written from an autistic advocacy point of view. Another difference is the room for personal experiences. Aspies For Freedom uses the same Mediawiki software as Wikipedia.

Major autism events:

2002 was declared Autism Awareness Year in the United Kingdom - this idea was initiated by Ivan and Charika Corea, parents of an autistic child, Charin. Autism Awareness Year was led by the British Institute of Brain Injured Children, Disabilities Trust, National Autistic Society, Autism London and 800 organizations in the United Kingdom. It had the personal backing of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and parliamentarians of all parties in the Palace of Westminster.

Autistic Pride Day, an initiative from Aspies For Freedom, is on 18 June each year, starting in 2005. It is to celebrate the positive side of being autistic and having Asperger's, to raise awareness of issues relating to autism, and to seek acceptance for differences, with an aim to bring an end to discrimination. It is hoped that events will be held worldwide, such as parades, marches, and parties. The theme for 2005 is "Acceptance not cure", the main event is a parade in Seattle, Washington,USA.