This year marks the 20th anniversary since the publication of the first issue of Autism. The journal was the product of several years of discussion among researchers and advocates in the United Kingdom. Although there were other high-quality journals devoted to autism and other developmental disabilities, many European researchers thought that existing journals focussed on research conducted in the United States, that it was often quite difficult for authors from countries outside the United States to get their papers published in these journals and, more importantly, that papers on autism published in other parts of the world frequently failed to be cited in US journals. There was a certain irony to these challenges, given that some of the most important pioneers in the field of autism research, such as Lorna Wing and Michael Rutter, were based in the United Kingdom. Moreover, with research on autism growing both in quantity and quality year by year, there was clearly room for another journal with a specific focus on autism. The recently appointed chief executive of the UK National Autistic Society at that time, Geraldine Peacock, was also eager to raise the profile of autism research in the United Kingdom, and together with Simon Baron-Cohen, Rita Jordan and Richard Mills, we approached the publisher, SAGE, to discuss the possibility of producing a new journal. SAGE saw that the time was ripe for such a development. The fact that the journal was to be published in association with the National Autistic Society was viewed as a major advantage, in that it anchored the journal and its mission in the needs and hopes of people with autism and those who care for them.