The Scene: Interior hallway of suburban family home. The autistic teen is in the bathroom directly off the hallway. The sound of a shower running can be heard from behind the closed door of the bathroom. The autistic teen enters the shower and begins speaking loudly. He is scripting. He begins one of his favorite and most-quoted scenes from The Princess Bride – “Battle of Wits.” His mother, across the hallway in her office, smiles as she listens to him. Last week in the shower, he scripted Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom in an original Pink Panther scene. The week before that, he sang a song from Toy Story. The mother recognizes, since she has heard it so often, that the current scene is nearing its end as her son’s voice rises. She laughs as she hears him deliver the final intonation.

Autistic teen: Never go in against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line!