This issue of IJE includes a theme on autism edited by two of us (Ezra Susser and Michealine Bresnahan). Our colleague Guohua Li joins us to write this introduction. In choosing this topic we venture into territory marked by controversy and conflict. The heat of the conflict is reflected in two recently published books, reviewed here by Stein and by Grinker. One of the flashpoints of controvers...

Note to readers: This draft was prepared for a slightly different audience, so the arguments focusing on visual privacy do not appear in the text. Odd word errors may be due to speech misrecognition. Do not cite, quote, or distribute without express permission. Please refer to paragraph #s, not page #s in comments.