That night as Sean slept, I climbed into bed with him. I felt I had failed him. I started to cry out of pure frustration. It was just beginning to dawn on me that the doctors had just as many questions as I did. I had to expand my search for someone who could help him.

At this point, no one knows Sean better than I do. I realize I am going to have to take the lead in deciding his treatment and I can't depend on any one doctor or specialist.

—Jennifer Murphy; Olney, Maryland, USA

Loneliness has been a constant in my life since I cannot relate freely with almost anybody. The way my mind works shapes my outlook on life, which is almost always regarded as unorthodox. Most people tend to shy away from opinions and insights that do not fit well with their patterns of thinking, and thus I tend to avoid being in the companionship of people in general.

All this changed a few years back when my second child, Antonio, was diagnosed. It is through him that I finally found peace with myself. A revelation took place within my psyche. The label helps, I must admit, for it is a bridge that unites with others of our sort.

—Marco L.; Quito, Ecuador

I can’t remember the first time I actually heard that my brother had Asperger's syndrome. (Of course, now he never officially had it because the disease doesn’t exist anymore. High-functioning autism is the preferred term.) I never really thought anything was wrong with my brother. He was just a bit weird—different and intense—but the Asperger's diagnosis at first relaxed me. It meant those times when he was "weird"—the intense fights (mostly emotional, sometimes physical with my parents), his inability to handle the possibility of being 10 minutes late to the cinema, his penchant for obsession, his fruit snobbishness (he won’t eat fruit unless it’s cold, firm, and new)—could make sense to me; there was a reason. What I still can’t comprehend is how he’ll be able to go on living in a world not designed for him.

There is a trend in articles, specifically about autism and Asperger's, that belies real experiences: They are far too positive. I understand why this inflection has found its way in to articles about Asperger's. Asperger's and autism are mental health issues that are permanent, and non-debilitating. Unlike, say, bipolar disorder or depression, autism is seen as something that can and has been overcome by people. These people succeed despite, and sometimes because of, their diagnoses. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be any positivity about the disease: One thing that more media coverage has given my family is a sense of understanding, not confusion, when I now tell friends about my brother.

But if you Google “autism and aggression,” you begin to see the real world in comments and in articles, where exasperated family members plead for help and guidance about what to do when a child is constantly aggressive and has constant meltdowns. Articles on the issue of Asperger's just never seem to get this side across. They always seem far more interested in letting you know how good the person they know is at mathematics or computers when, from my experience, this is an overly-attributed skill. This is not to say that no autism kids are excellent at STEM subjects; it’s just that those are not the only things they will be interested in. Films and TV are more likely from my experience.