The Pied Pipers of Autism begins with a personal mystery. My nephew, Otto, turns out to have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), and I found myself wondering why. Is the cause of ASD 90% genetic, as many academic investigators believe, or has something else in the world surrounding our children changed? What could be causing the number of children acquiring this disorder go from 1 in 20,000 some 50 years ago to 1 in 70 or less today? This is the mystery of ASD, a mystery causing too much suffering in too many families around the world.My wife thought Otto liked the Baby Einstein video series too much when he was an infant. My hunch was there was a connection. From this hunch, The Pied Pipers of Autism was born almost three years ago and with it hopefully the solution to the mystery of ASD.The book begins with an exploration of the nature of ASD. This journey takes the reader all the way from social networks down to the level of the synapses in the brain. Along the way the reader will discover the relationships between ASD and gender, genetics, the brain, 3-D vision, twins with their private languages, Romanian orphans, Helen Keller, the descended larynx and much more. The book answers such questions as:How can you protect your infant from developing ASD? Clue: It has nothing to do with vaccines.Is one-way communication dangerous for some young children and infants? Has the study of genetics helped us understand ASD? Why our sons are up to 17 times more vulnerable to Asperger's (a milder form of ASD) than our daughters?Why twins and second sons are so susceptible to ASD?What should you look for in a program to help a child who already has ASD?And the big question in the end, why the lives of so many children like Otto are being affected by ASD, and why the prevalence of ASD is exploding throughout the world. The role of genetics is a part of the story of ASD but only a part. This book shows the increase in autism has been fueled by the invasion into the nursery of sources of one-way communication such as TV, videos, video devices and talking toys. The book shows it is these Pied Pipers of Autism, who have been enchanting our children away from normal social development and into the fearful social isolation of ASD.This well-illustrated book will hopefully get the attention of the soon-to-be parents, pediatricians or anyone who advises parents, and researchers in the autism field. It is aimed at people who care for infants and children and anyone whose life has been touched by a child with ASD. The Pied Pipers of Autism provides a new and badly needed understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder.