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For a condition that was first identified in the 18th century, autism has received remarkably little attention. It is only recently that public awareness of the condition has started to increase. And this is thanks in no small way to literature.

First there was Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The novel tells the story of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old who has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. The nature of his condition, and its impact on his family, is described through Christopher's eyes in an unsentimental but endearing way. Although you are left in no doubt of the challenging circumstances faced by Christopher and his family, in many ways their lives are unremarkable. They are a "normal" family trying to cope with autism.


Haddon's book has introduced a mass readership to Asperger's syndrome, opening our eyes to the condition without bombarding us with too many details or too much sentimentality. It has already sold more than 1.5 million copies.

Then, during Autism Awareness Week in May, Charlotte Moore's George and Sam was published. Her book is an honest, funny and deeply affecting account of life with three sons, two of whom are autistic. The close-up insight into the highs and lows of living with her sons is possibly the best introduction to autism available.

The success of both books has sparked considerable media coverage and public debates. Moore, a Guardian journalist, had already chronicled her life with George and Sam in her highly acclaimed Mind the Gap column.

But the popularity of her and Haddon's books has encouraged TV and radio, broadsheet and tabloid media to wake up to autism.

Last month, BBC Radio 4 devoted an entire series of programmes to the subject. This surge of interest has been extraordinary. Haddon has confessed to being astonished at the publicity surrounding his "story of a disabled boy living in Swindon".

The arrival, in quick succession, of two best-sellers dealing with autism must have delighted the National Autistic Society, which has been campaigning for more than 40 years to improve support for children with autism and their carers. These two books have probably done more to increase public awareness about the condition than the charity's entire collection of publications.

But story-telling is not always a helpful way to bring an issue to public attention. Novels and screenplays can sentimentalise and simplify issues to such an extent that they hinder, rather than increase, understanding. It is no coincidence that the National Autistic Society has a section on its website devoted to countering the notion that all people with autism act just like Dustin Hoffman's character in the 1988 film Rain Man. (They estimate, incidentally, that at most one or two in 200 people with an autism spectrum disorder demonstrate his kind of extraordinary ability.)


Being better understood is what people with autism and their carers need most. Society's ignorance about its symptoms and consequences has resulted in considerable anguish for many families. Even getting a diagnosis can be a long and difficult process; 40 per cent of all children with autism wait more than three years. And, after that, support and services for families are patchy at best.

Lack of awareness about autistic spectrum disorders not only makes life difficult for families, it may even lead to tragic consequences. The announcement of Lord Filkin's investigation into claims that some parents of children with Asperger's syndrome have been falsely accused of abuse seems to suggest this.

The lives of children who have autism and related disorders will improve only if society understands their conditions better. Haddon and Moore have provided a view into the experience of two families, one real, one fiction, each living with autism. But while their experiences will be familiar to many, some families will not see a reflection of themselves in Haddon's and Moore's portrayals. Their books will have done families no favour if they encourage us to think that all children with autism are alike.

The challenge for campaigners is to get across the point that many people experience common difficulties associated with autism - as many as half a million people are now affected in the UK - yet individual experiences can be very different. We need to improve our understanding of the shared experiences of those who have autism and at the same time recognise that they will not all be like Christopher, George or Sam.


Lisa Harker is chairperson of the Daycare Trust