The book covers the history of autism and autism advocacy. Issues that they discuss include the Refrigerator mother theory and the possibility of an autism epidemic. One autistic individual they cover in particular is Donald Triplett, the first child diagnosed with autism.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 617-642) and index.

Preface -- pt. I. Autism's First Child (1930s-1960s) : Donald -- A menace to society -- Case 1 -- Wild children and holy fools -- Doubly loved and protected -- Some kind of genius ; pt. II. The Blame Game (1960s-1980s) : The refrigerator mother -- Prisoner 15209 -- Kanner's fault -- Biting her tongue -- Mothers-in-arms -- The agitator -- Home on a Monday afternoon ; pt. III. The End of Institutions (1970s-1990s) : "Behind the walls of the world's indifference" -- The right to education -- Getting on the bus -- Seeing the ocean for the first time ; pt. IV. Behavior, Analyzed (1950s-1990s) : The behaviorist -- "Screams, slaps, and love" -- The aversion to aversives -- The "anti-Bettelheim" -- 47 percent -- Look at me -- From courtroom to classroom ; pt. V. The Questions Asked in London (1960s-1990s) : The questions asked -- Who counts? -- Words unstrung -- The great twin chase -- Finding their marbles ; pt. VI. Redefining a Diagnosis (1970s-1990s) : The autism spectrum -- The Austrian -- The signature ; pt. VII. Dreams and boundaries (1980s-1990s) : The dream of language -- The child within -- An elusive definition -- Meeting of the minds -- The magic man ; pt. VIII. How Autism Became Famous (1980s-1990s) : Putting autism on the map -- Society's emergency ; pt. IX. "Epidemic" (1990s-2010) : The vaccine scare -- Autism speaks -- A story unravels -- The greatest fraud ; pt. X. Today : Finding a voice -- Neurodiversity -- A happy man -- Epilogue.