Authors of book on autism to speak Feb. 17

John Donvan and Caren Zucker, authors of the new New York Times bestseller, "In A Different Key: The Story of Autism," will discuss the fraught and high stakes controversies swirling around autism on Feb. 17, at 10 a.m., in the National Press Club’s Zenger Room.

The brain condition has become an issue in the 2016 campaign for the White House. The more than three million Americans touched by autism, along with their families, represent a large constituency -- one that Hillary Clinton was first to address in her recently announced autism "platform." Other candidates also are likely to take up the topic.

Neurodiversity expert John Elder Robison (who is on the autism spectrum) will join Donvan and Zucker to explain the complexities of autism politics. Debates about autism involve science, social attitudes, funding priorities and the question of whether the search for a "cure" for autism merits society's support or censure.

John Donvan is a correspondent for ABC News and has anchored broadcasts including Nightline. He also serves as the host and moderator of the Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates, which are heard on public radio and by podcast.

Caren Zucker is a journalist and television producer who has reported on a broad range of subjects, including autism, for both ABC and PBS.

Both Zucker and Donvan have close relatives who are autistic.