Shonda and Curt Schilling loved their son Grant with all their hearts, but raising him had always been something of a challenge. By the time Grant was seven, his misbehavior and refusal to listen had become nearly unmanageable—a situation exacerbated by Curt ‘s constant travel as a major league pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Seemingly everyone Shonda encountered at home and on the road had an opinion—“he’s too spoiled,” “he needs a good spanking,” “he needs more discipline”—and they were more than willing to offer unsolicited parenting advice. Still no matter what Shonda and Curt tried, nothing seemed to alter Grant’s behavior.

All that changed after a disastrous first attempt at summer camp in 2007; it was then that Shonda knew something was definitely wrong. Worried and desperate, she turned to a doctor, who tested Grant for a battery of childhood behavioral conditions. But instead of receiving a diagnosis of ADHD, Shonda was shocked to learn her son had Asperger’s syndrome—a form of high functioning autism that is increasingly being diagnosed in children who at first glance appear disruptive and difficult.

In The Best Kind of Different, Shonda details every step in her family’s journey through Asperger’s, offering an intimate and candid portrait of this condition from a parent’s point of view. In emotionally compelling prose, Shonda chronicles Grant’s early years, confronts the guilt and pain that engulfed her after learning of her son’s condition, and celebrates Grant’s success in the two years since his diagnosis. With insight and helpful advice for parents, she provides an honest and moving glimpse inside her family—as two parents struggle to understand the complex beauty of their son and learn to live with Aspergers.