I was on holiday recently and I saw a boy about 7 or 8 years old walking in flip flops. He looked very proud of his flip flops, and was obviously enjoying the sensation of these plastic shoes on his feet. Then I thought about  my son, he is completely unable to walk in flip flops, the sensation is so uncomfortable or unsettling to him that it effects his balance and he just cant do it. And believe me he tried. You often hear the phrase invisible disability, but I am not so sure, in some cases it is just plain hidden. It does not take long to recognize that there is something different in a child with autism. 

But that being said, they are often very good looking and have an ethereal quality that is other worldly. Up to a certain age those qualities can mask the signs of autism. But now my son is 11 and he is beginning to come across as a little different. Thinking about it, he has always been seen that way by his class mates. But they love him and celebrate his difference, just as I do. 

Given the statistics we are going to be welcoming a lot more autistic children into the world ...