Richard O. Williams has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.S., from George Washington University in Washington DC. He spent twenty years in the medical sciences in academia, doing research and teaching at the University of London; the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France; the University of Heidelberg, Germany; and the World Health Organization in Africa. He also has had a career in business development, helping to start small companies. He is the author of eight-five peer-reviewed research articles on the molecular genetics and microbiology of infectious diseases. His interest in the world of autism started with his daughter who was adopted in 1979 from Thailand at the age of two.

After his personal intervention in many of her schools, his daughter finished high school. She attended Beacon College in Leesburg, Florida, a small, unaccredited college that works specifically with students with learning disabilities, ADD, and autism. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in human services and Dr. Williams was elected to its Board of Trustees.

Following his retirement from the board after twelve years, he devotes his time to researching the subjects of autism and learning disabilities. He co-authors books with Jeffery Freed, who has a clinical and counseling background on autism.