A mother of an adult child with autism ponders what happens to children like hers when their parents and families are no longer around to care for them.

I Am Me challenges the values and priorities of institutions, communities, and systems to grapple with what is today referred to as a “tsunami”—the nearly 50,000 children who each year face an adult world so sadly unprepared to deal with their ever-growing needs. Like snowflakes, each autistic is different, no less, and deserves respect. It is a journey told through the prism of a mother who offers, hope, belief, and conviction that the life of a child with autism can and should be fulfilling and rewarding, and who compels readers to engage in helping to make the world a safer and better place for those affected by this mysterious condition.

In her personal story, Dr. Marlene Ringler takes us into the world of the autistic and helps us to appreciate the complexities of living in a world where being different is a lifelong struggle. She shares her own investigation of this complex neurological disorder, looking for answers where few, if any, exist. Her fascinating journey directly addresses those very human questions as she presents her research findings and current investigations into the spectrum disorder in everyday language.

“Marlene has gifted the autism community with a guide that will be useful to parents and others wishing to understand autism from the autism community at large.” —Stephen Mark Shore, EdD, author of Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome