Thurman proposes that sensory and cognitive development have evolved together into a very different form of intelligence in those with ASD, and it should be viewed not as a disability but instead as a difference to be celebrated and followed.

Thurman began working with children diagnosed with ASD in 1986. With group home management and intensive ABA therapy in her early career, she developed a special interest in meeting the unique needs of those individuals who were asynchronously developed into the realms of the "ASD savant." Most recently, she completed a landmark study proposing an alternative sensory-cognitive difference theory based on her extensive discussions and interactions with diagnosed adults. This research was the foundation for this book.