14 Wayne Gilpin | On laughing with autism, on becoming the powerhouse autism publishing company in America, and on his late son Alex

Wayne Gilpin began his publishing career by bringing car repair and law books to market. When his son Alex was diagnosed with autism, he joined the Autism Society of America, and became its president in 1987. Alex was 15 when the first edition of Wayne Gilpin’s lighthearted self-published book was released in 1993, Laughing & Loving with Autism: A Collection of “Real Life” Warm & Humorous Stories. The 500 copies he conservatively printed sold out in just 3 days.

He founded Future Horizons in 1996, dedicated to publishing books relating to autism, and by now they have published over 140 books as well a truly excellent bi-monthly magazine, Autism Asperger’s Digest. Future Horizons organizes educational autism conferences all over the globe, featuring renowned speakers and experts such as Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Tony Attwood, Dr. Jed Baker, Jennifer McIlwee Myers, and Dr. James Ball.

Alex passed away in 2008, but shared an apartment as a young adult with a friend with autism in North Carolina. There’s a fantastic article from the Chapel Hill News here on how they successfully navigated this living arrangement.