Rimland completed his undergraduate studies and earned a master's degree in psychology at San Diego State University.

In the book, Rimland asserted that autism was not a psychological manifestation caused by unfeeling parents,[4] a widely held belief popularized by Bruno Bettelheim.

[5][2] Rimland's message resonated with parents and, after the book was published, he began getting calls and letters from people who wanted to share their stories and ask for advice.

[2] In 1965, Rimland founded the Autism Society of America (ASA), a parent advocacy organization, to "work on behalf of autistic children and their families at local, state and national levels.

Rimland supported Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), a systematic educational approach made popular by Ivar Lovaas.

Rimland suggested giving Raymond Babbitt, the movie's main character portrayed by Dustin Hoffman,[3] the extraordinary characteristics of someone with Savant syndrome.

Rimland contended that the vaccination triggered autism by placing a burden on the immune systems of children between birth and age 2.

[17] He remained undeterred when a study by Robert L. Davis, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, found no association between MMR and inflammatory bowel disease, discussed in the Wakefield report, "nor any evidence that the vaccine triggered acute onset of symptoms.

[19] The United States Institute of Medicine (IOM) in its 2004 report found that, "the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism.

"[20] The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), National Health Service (NHS), World Health Organization (WHO), European Medicines Agency (EMEA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and many other national and international medical organizations have issued statements of a similar nature, finding no link between autism and thimerosal based on the evidence currently available from a variety of studies.

Writing for Science-Based Medicine, neurologist Steven Novella characterized chelation for autism as quackery that is potentially deadly.

[4][30][31][32] Rimland advocated the use of secretin, a "naturally occurring intestinal hormone, saying it was "possibly the most important discovery in the history of autism.

[35][36] Rimland was an early supporter of facilitated communication (FC) (now discredited),[37] though he disputed founder Douglas Biklen's claims that autism was "fundamentally a motor problem".

"[39][38] Rimland later said, "How is it possible that an autistic kid can pick up the last tiny crumbs of potato chips off a plate but not have sufficient motor coordination to type the letter E?

"[44] In 1995, Rimland reported that peer-reviewed studies (40+) with more than 400 people with autism as subjects had "failed to document FC in all but a handful of cases.

Dr. Rimland has been warned publicly and privately that to continue to use our names and our professional reputations to support positions that he espouses and we oppose exposes him to charges of unethical, illegal, as well as ridiculous conduct.