• 1. It affects each person differently. Autism is also known as a spectrum disorder. That's because not everyone who has autism has the exact same symptoms with the same severity. However, there are some core symptom areas that people with ASD have. These include problems with social communication, like avoiding eye contact; difficulty with the back and forth of conversation; or trouble understanding other people's points of view. Other symptoms include repeating certain behaviors or having unusual or restricted behaviors.

• 2. Symptoms can change over time. Some symptoms can change and may become more or less severe as people with ASD age. Symptoms can also change with behavioral intervention or medication.

• 3. ASD isn't specific to one race or ethnicity. Autism occurs in people of all ethnic, racial, and economic backgrounds. People who have older parents, a sibling with ASD, or a genetic condition like Down syndrome are more likely to be diagnosed with autism. Also, boys are four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ASD.

• 4. There's still much to learn. While scientists don't know the exact causes of ASD, research suggests that genes can act together with environmental factors to affect development in ways that can lead to ASD. That's why researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are working to better understand the condition and diagnose it early.

• 5. ASD isn't a weakness. While people with autism do experience challenges, they can also have great strengths. Those include performing well in math, the arts, and science; remembering specific details for long periods of time; and being strong learners.

• 6. It's a lifelong journey. While people are often diagnosed with ASD as children, they are affected throughout their lives. That’s why NIH also funds research to understand how to best support those with ASD as they become adults; for example, helping them to enter the workforce and live independently.

Let’s Pretend We Never Met by Melissa Walker

If it were up to Mattie Markham, there would be a law that said your family wasn’t allowed to move in the middle of the school year. After all, sixth grade is hard enough without wondering if you’ll be able to make new friends or worrying that the kids in Pennsylvania won’t like your North Carolina accent.

But when Mattie meets her next-door neighbor and classmate, she begins to think maybe she was silly to fear being the “new girl.” Agnes is like no one Mattie has ever met — she’s curious, hilarious, smart, and makes up the best games. If winter break is anything to go by, the rest of the school year should be a breeze.

Only it isn’t, because when vacation ends and school starts, Mattie realizes something: At school Agnes is known as the weird girl who no one likes. All Mattie wants is to fit in (okay, and maybe be a little popular too), but is that worth ending her friendship with Agnes?

The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor

Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason’s learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason’s best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family’s orchard. An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can’t understand why Lieutenant Baird won’t believe the story Mason has told about that day.

Both Mason and his new friend, tiny Calvin Chumsky, are relentlessly bullied by the other boys in their neighborhood, so they create an underground club space for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in trouble again. He’s desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin, and eventually, Benny.

But will anyone believe him?

Just My Luck by Cammie McGovern

Fourth grade is not going at all how Benny Barrows hoped. He’s still not great at riding his bike, his best friend moved away last spring, and worst of all, he fears he’s to blame for the accident that sent his dad to the hospital over the summer. As Benny tries to make new friends, watch out for his brother, who’s on the autism spectrum, and deal with all the chaos at home, he discovers that although unlucky things may happen in his life, together with his family and friends he can get through anything.

The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla

#OwnVoices author Sally J. Pla presents an epic and utterly original road trip novel that follows Charlie, a boy with OCD whose careful routine gets turned upside down when he and his siblings travel across the country in an RV to be reunited with their war correspondent father who’s been hospitalized.

A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold

A Boy Called Bat introduces the incredibly loveable Bat, a young boy trying to deal with his disrupted routine with divorced parents, as he tries to convince his veterinarian mother to let him keep a baby skunk as a pet. This small chapter book is perfect for readers ages 7+, with endearing illustrations and lots of heart.

Bat and the Waiting Game by Elana K. Arnold

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life is pretty great. He’s the caretaker of the best baby skunk in the world — even Janie, his older sister, is warming up to Thor.

When Janie gets a part in the school play and can’t watch Bat after school, it means some pretty big changes. Someone else has to take care of the skunk kit in the afternoons, Janie is having sleepovers with her new friends, and Bat wants everything to go back to normal.

He just has to make it to the night of Janie’s performance. . .

Bat and the End of Everything by Elana K. Arnold

Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat) has been the caretaker for Thor, the best skunk kit in the world…but the last day of third grade is quickly approaching, and Thor is almost ready to be released into the wild.

The end of school also means that Bat has to say good-bye to his favorite teacher, and he worries about the summer care of Babycakes, their adorable class pet. Not only that, but his best friend is leaving for a long vacation in Canada.

Summer promises good things, too, like working with his mom at the vet clinic and hanging out with his sister, Janie. But Bat can’t help but feel that everything is coming to an end.

Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern

After failing his certification test to become a service dog, Chester gets adopted by a family as the companion of ten-year-old Gus, who is on the severe end of the autism spectrum. Chester is determined to do a good job, because after all, Gus is now his person. Told entirely from Chester’s perspective, this is the perfect book for animal lovers.

Superstar by Mandy Davis

For fans of Wonder, Mandy Davis’s Superstar sees homeschooled Lester transition to a classroom with other students now that his mom is going back to work after Lester’s father, an astronaut, died. As Lester acclimates to this new routine with rules he doesn’t always understand, he focuses on one exciting thing — the school science fair. But will his mom put a stop to his experiment about flying when it stirs up a lot of memories about Lester’s dad?

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin

Rose Howard likes routine and structure. She also likes homonyms, which is why she gives her dog the name Rain, which has two of them (Reign, Rein). But when Rain goes missing just as a storm hits town, Rose must muster the courage to leave her safe places to search for her.

Stanley Will Probably Be Fine by Sally J. Pla

Nobody knows comics trivia like Stanley knows comics trivia. He’s even invented his own imaginary superhero, John Lockdown, to help him when the world around him gets to be too much. And he’s going to need all the help he can get! Stanley has entered Trivia Quest — a giant comics-trivia treasure hunt — to prove he can tackle his worries, score VIP passes to Comic Fest, and win back his ex-best friend. Partnered with his fearless new neighbor Liberty, Stanley faces his most epic, overwhelming, challenging day ever.

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. She’s spent years trying to teach David the rules-from “a peach is not a funny-looking apple” to “keep your pants on in public”-in order to stop his embarrassing behaviors. But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy, and Kristi, the next-door friend she’s always wished for, it’s her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?

The Silver Gate and Into the Nightfell Wood by Kristin Bailey

After the death of their mother, Elric and his younger sister, Wynn, escape their tiny village in search of the mythical Silver Gates and the fairy realm beyond. But the road to freedom is long and treacherous, and if they want to survive, Elric and Wynn will have to learn to depend on one another before all is lost.

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Twelve-year-old genius Willow Chance is obsessed with nature and diagnosing medial conditions. She also finds comfort in counting by 7s. When both her parents tragically die in a car crash, Willow’s world is turned upside down. Positioned with a surrogate family, Willow overcomes her grief and is taken on a journey to find her place in a baffling world.