I have often spoken and have written elsewhere about the moment I truly entered the world of my son, Ian. When Ian was very young (2 to 4 years old) he had very little language. However, he could recite entire Disney movies word-for-word – especially Winnie the Pooh. During that period he also did not sleep at night, so my husband, who had to get up early for work, slept in Ian’s racecar-bed and Ian snuggled up with me. One night when Ian was happily reciting lines from The Blustery Day, I jumped in and took the part of Tigger: “The wonderful thing about tiggers, is tiggers are wonderful things. Their tops are made out of rubber. Their bottoms are made out of springs!” Ian whipped his head around, looked me right in the eye…and then burst into laughter. With a huge smile he welcomed me into his world.

“At age 5, we decided to take both girls to Disneyland, which included a private session with her favorite characters at Disneyland’s City Hall that we arranged through a friend who worked at the resort. I remember how confused and agitated she was as we waited patiently in the courtyard for the appearance of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Dumbo. Once they entered, she raced from our arms, quietly greeting each character and seeking a hug. We were stunned to hear that voice that was stilled for so long.”

Her mother Arabella says that the family initially started encouraging her to paint as part of broader therapeutic goals; hoping that art could help her develop speech and joint attention, along with social skills like turn-taking. Only then did they realize what a unique talent she had – far beyond other children in her age group.

In November, CNN covered the story of 22-year-old Jack Howes, a remarkable young man with Asperger’s whose affinity for soccer – or, to the rest of the world, football – helped him cope with anxiety and overcome social challenges. Writer James Masters describes how Jack can list every single FA Cup winning Team since 1984 […]

Joshʼs affinity for dogs started over a year ago. He always wants to go to the dog park or, at least, visit the three neighborhood dogs that we know. He loves to talk about dogs, pet them, and log “dog meets.” On our summer vacation, for example, he logged in a notebook every dog he met. I personally love his latest affinity because we not only have a dog, but I grew up with dogs. When I was his age, I loved dogs just like my son.

Yonatan came into a recent session with Tomi (his teacher) babbling a lot. He was very hyper (he is also diagnosed with severe ADHD). Among the things he was babbling were a few syllables he repeated a lot: : Ata-y, ata-y, he said again and again.

“We know you are trying to say something but we can’t understand,” both Tomi and I said to him.

Then we started writing, and Yonatan wrote a few letters that were not coherent to us. And then he wrote in Hebrew the letters that make up the same strange combination: Ata-y.

Reid has an affinity for music, entertainers, and performing. As a toddler, he memorized more than 200 track numbers and titles on favorite CD recordings and from “My First Hymnal.” It is obvious how deeply he feels music—both by how he wanders to wherever it is played and dances with abandon when he arrives. Songs in a minor key still bring him to tears. Gifted with perfect pitch, Reid helped select our first piano, nonverbally. The salesman said, “you need to get this one or he won’t abide it being played.”

“She used to draw (replicate) cartoon characters perfectly but now spends most of her time on Minecraft. She doesn’t start with a drawing. She actually visualizes a pattern on a grid and can superimpose it from her mind onto the computer screen and fill in the grid accordingly. It’s quite a gift.”