Diversity & Innovation
A series highlighting Diversity and Inclusion in Innovation and Design Thinking
John Elder Robinson
March 1st, 2021
John Elder Robinson is an autistic music and car enthusiast, New York Times best-selling author, government board member, and William & Mary neurodiversity scholar. In the 1970s John was a sound engineer for Pink Floyd and later created the iconic special effects guitars for KISS. He additionally founded Robinson Service, specializing in Rolls Royce, Land Rover, and Bentley restorations. John may be a jack of all trades, but he is perhaps best known for his books, Look Me in the Eye, Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian and Raising Cubby, which are the most widely read accounts of Asperger’s in the world. John currently serves on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee of the US Department of Health and Human Services and other boards for the US National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control. He has stated that his life goal is to improve the quality of life for those living with autism, both autistic people and their family members.