Barry M. Prizant

Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP is recognized as among the world’s leading scholars on autism and neurodiversity, and as an innovator of respectful, person- and family-centered approaches for autistic individuals and those with other neurodevelopmental conditions. He is known internationally for his inspiring keynote addresses and presentations. Prizant is a certified speech-language pathologist, Director of Childhood Communication Services, a private practice, an Adjunct Professor of Communicative Disorders at the University of Rhode Island, and has fifty years of experience as a scholar, researcher, and international consultant. He has served as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Brown University Medical School and has held tenured Professor appointments at Emerson College in Boston, and Southern Illinois University. Prizant has published five books, more than 150 articles and chapters, and is a co-author of The SCERTS Model: A Comprehensive Educational Approach, now being implemented in more than a dozen countries.

Prizant has been a two-time featured presenter (2013, 2017) at the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day in New York City and has given more than 1000 presentations in major universities and medical schools across the US and in more than 25 countries. Over the past 25 years, Prizant also has co-developed and co-facilitates a retreat weekend for parents of autistic family members with his wife, Dr. Elaine Meyer of Harvard University. As a performing percussionist, he has a specific interest on the positive impact of the musical, theatrical and visual arts for autistic and neurodivergent children and adults, and sits on the boards and participates in activities of two award-winning companies, The Miracle Project of Los Angeles and The Spectrum Theatre Ensemble of Providence, RI.

Prizant’s recent book, "Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism" (co-authored with Tom Fields-Meyer; Simon & Schuster, 2015; 2022) has been the best-selling book on autism since 2015. The updated and expanded edition was published in April, 2022, along with an audiobook version narrated by Prizant. It is now published in 26 languages, was selected as the featured book on autism and neurodiversity by the United Nations in 2017 and was ranked by Book Authority as #1 of the “100 best books on autism of all time”. Uniquely Human is based on Prizant’s 50 years of learning from, supporting and collaborating with autistic individuals of all ages and their families, and conveys a deep respect for the qualities of people on the autism spectrum and other neurodivergent conditions, offering a compassionate and insightful perspective that has been called “life-changing” as well as “inspirational and uplifting”. Prizant also co-produces and hosts a podcast, Uniquely Human: The Podcast (www.uniquelyhuman.com) with his friend, Dave Finch, an autistic audio engineer and New York Times best-selling author. It is ranked # 1 of all time by Goodpods in categories of disability, psychiatry, autism, and ADHD. More than 140 episodes are now listened to in 150 countries, with close to 2 million downloads and an average Apple podcast rating of 4.9/5.0.