Thomas A. McKean

Thomas A. McKean (born June 18, 1965) is an American autistic author and lecturer. He is a poet, a singer-songwriter, an international speaker and a writer. He is the author of Soon Will Come the Light: A View From Inside the Autism Puzzle and Light On the Horizon: A Deeper View From Inside the Autism Puzzle. He has been described as having the unusual ability to be in the world of autism, yet also possesses the communication skills to describe what that world is like.

My Interview with Thomas McKean
Quoted in Kalning, Diane. "My Interview with Thomas McKean" (4 May 2009) Available Online
 * A lot of what you see on the internet with people who claim to have autism is a very distorted and unrealistic view of what autism really is. You can spot these people by the absolute pride they have in their condition.  They say autism is the best thing ever and some of them even say it places above the general population and makes them better or superior in some way.
 * My family was unaware of the autism until I was into my 20's. No one ever told them about it.

Autistic Writer Finds Voice, Delivers a Message of Hope
"Autistic Writer Finds Voice, Delivers a Message of Hope" Chicago Tribune (28 July 1994) Available Online
 * I did not speak until I was 16. I understood everything everyone said and I would want to talk, but I just didn't know how to say it.
 * The bridge was built by someone who was willing to come into my world and take me into this one.