"William inspired the book. I incorporated his passion for Chuck Berry's rock and roll and love of all things whimsical, added reggae, magic, and set much of the novel in a junkyard, a metaphor for the lead character Eddie's life. He fears he will end up on the scrap heap of life because he doesn't function like others."

"Everyone tries to fix Eddie because they think he's broken, but he ends up fixing them. In the process he accepts himself and by the time I wrote the epilogue, I had accepted my own son. He had fixed me."

Though Littman is an award-winning writer, former agents and publishers shied away because they said not enough readers could relate to autism. Determined to prove skeptics wrong, Littman self-published "Eddie and Me on the Scrap Heap," available through Amazon.com. He's donating half his royalties to autism organizations.

"Writing the novel made me more knowledgeable about autism," said Littman. "I researched reggae and how to speak Jamaican. Likewise, I studied magic and spent a lot of time in junkyards. But the biggest reward was learning to appreciate my son. He's not a dud; he's not a genius. He's just a great kid, and I'm proud of him."