Thomas A. McKean

Thomas A. McKean is an American autistic author and lecturer. He is a poet, a singer-songwriter, an international speaker and a writer. He is the author of Soon Will Come the Light: A View From Inside the Autism Puzzle and Light On the Horizon: A Deeper View From Inside the Autism Puzzle. McKean has claimed that he did not speak until he was 16, but was able to describe how autism was like to him. He constantly fights various symptoms such as making strange noises, and says that perception of the senses causes low-intensity pain. McKean at one time earned a living traveling about and doing conferences and consulting work on autism. He has been described as having the unusual ability to be in the world of autism, yet also possesses the communication skills to describe what that world is like.