Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, the developers of the Floortime/DIR method of intervention for children with autism, have come out with a new book, Engaging Autism.

I started reading the book yesterday and found tears literally rolling down my cheeks in the train (just a bit embarrassing; luckily I had brought along my sunglasses!). I had just reached this point in the description of how a child should be diagnosed:

"To see whether an ability exists...it is vital to observe the child under the most favorable circumstances. If the child can demonstrate it under these conditions, he has the ability. He may have problems that require work, but the diagnosis should be based on his true challenges."

How many times have parents with children on the spectrum argued in favor of their children's strengths, only to be dismissed because "we didn't see those abilities in the classroom, the clinic, the lab?" How often have people on the spectrum been judged hopeless because they performed poorly in stressful situations?

In fact -- how often are we, as Americans, judged not on our intrinsic abilities, but on our ability to demonstrate those abilities out loud, under stress, in front of an audience? How often have you, or someone you love, encountered the "stress test" and failed?