Wrong Planet

Although (as far as I know) Michael John Carley of GRASP and Alison Tepper Singer of Autism Speaks are not literally in bed together, they have had such a cozy relationship over the past two years that the expression seems quite apropos. Most of us know Singer from her appearance in the Autism Every Day film, in which she attained worldwide infamy (and, if I recall correctly, a visit from child protective services) for saying, in front of her autistic daughter, that she had fantasized about driving off the George Washington Bridge with her daughter in the car.

Carley's sordid history of kissing up to Autism Speaks began in 2006 when he and Singer wrote so-called articles of understanding, in which Singer argued in favor of Autism Speaks' cure and prevention research by claiming that her daughter "does not have any areas of strengths that I fear squashing through medication, intervention or cure," and Carley slavishly bleated that autistic adults should be more understanding of the suffering of such parents.

Read on for the details and links.

Wrong Planet has acquired autism organization Autism Speaks for $80 million dollars. The deal was completed early tuesday morning and marks a turning point in the campaign by autistics who feel that their needs were not represented by an organization that is run without any input from people with Autism.

"We decided to announce the deal today because this is the first day of Autism Awareness Month" said Wrong Planet founder Alex Plank. "I am planning on completely restructuring the organization to meet the needs of people with autism for the first time" he said.

WrongPlanet.net, an international website for people with various levels of Autism and Asperger's Syndrome has grown to over 7000 members in two years, according to Alex Plank, the web site’s cofounder. “On average, we get 20 new members a day. I think its because we provide such an unusual environment with forums where people on the autism spectrum and parents of people on the spectrum can share experiences and frustrations they would otherwise keep to themselves, articles by experts addressing the entire autistic spectrum, and a chat room where isolated people can talk to each other.”

In the past week, we have had multiple unscheduled site service interruptions. This is unacceptable to the members, to me, and to the rest of the Wrong Planet staff.

Tonight, starting at 11:00 PM EST, we are migrating everything to a new, more expensive, but much faster site with a much better LayeredTech high performance data network.

As a result of the migration, the site may go down and at some point the forums will be locked to prevent changes while the database migration is ocurring. If you can't get to WP during this time, don't worry; we'll be back soon.

If you're a geek, read on for the server specifications. Otherwise, scroll down on the main page and read Kassianne's article.

In episode 38 of Autism Podcast, Dorene Ciletti and Michael talk with Cindy Waeltermann of the popular website AutismLink.com. They discuss the fantastic resources the website has to offer, her own personal connection to autism, and the exciting changes coming to AutismLink in the near future.

Read on for more information!

The Washington Post Reports:

Children born to fathers of advancing age are at significantly higher risk of developing autism compared with children born to younger fathers, according a comprehensive study published yesterday that offers surprising new insight into one of the most feared disorders of the brain.

The finding comes at a time of great controversy over autism in the United States, as a recent surge in diagnoses has fueled speculations about various possible causes of the disorder. For scientists, both the origins of and potential treatments for the disorder remain a mystery.

A single mother says her only son, who had Asperger's syndrome, lost his life because the authorities did not understand his disability.

Glennys Jones' son, David, 23, was found dead on December 31 last year, following an overdose of prescription drugs. Last week, a coroner recorded an open verdict at an inquest into his death.

Now Miss Jones is calling for more awareness of his condition.

Different genes may be responsible for causing autism in boys than in girls, researchers said on Wednesday in a study that may help explain why the condition is more common in boys.

And other genes may play a role in the early onset and late onset forms of autism, the researchers at the University of Washington reported in the journal Molecular Genetics.

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Edinburgh, Scotland: A civil servant with Asperger's syndrome was fired by tax office managers after union representatives labelled him a health hazard, a tribunal has heard.

Patrick Roberts, 48, was sacked from his job with Customs and Excise when representatives from the LTS union described his behaviour as "a health and safety risk" to his fellow workers.

Pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) like autism and Asperger Syndrome have been on the rise for years. Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccines and thimerosal-containing vaccines (which are approximately 50 percent ethylmercury) have been suggested as possible causes. A new McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) study, published in the scientific journal Pediatrics, assessed the link between childhood immunizations and PDD in 28,000 Quebec children and finally clears MMR vaccines and thimerosal-containing immunizations as risk factors.

CBS News Reports 'Eleven-year-old Parker Weishaar is just about the most well-behaved kid you'll ever meet — now. Parker has a form of autism called Asperger's syndrome. CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports that one of the symptoms can be meltdowns." His parents, Wendy and Mark, "couldn't deal with it. We would have incidences in the classroom where he would kind of clear off the bookshelves."

What worked for them was Candy. Not the sweet stuff — a dog … named Candy. She's a certified assistance dog whose job basically is to be with Parker; to stick right by his side, 24/7.'

As George Mason, a team many thought should not have been in the 65-team NCAA field, threatened to become the unlikeliest Final Four team in decades sent the crowd at the Verizon Center into rafter-rattling delirium, a sign read, "Can you hear us now?"
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The message, an echo of Verizon's U.S. cellphone advertising campaign, came through loud and clear after five minutes of overtime. With players dancing and administrators crying, a deep voice spun a crazy, swirling dreamlike celebration both deeper into euphoria and more sharply into reality.
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"Your attention," a voice blared above the din. "Would the winners of the Washington, D.C., Regional please assemble on the center stage?"
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Up jumped the George Mason players. Above the chaos, the scoreboard silently offered the bare facts: Mason 86, UConn 84. Top-seeded Connecticut, which had won two NCAA titles since 1999, is not going to the Final Four. Eleventh-seeded George Mason, which had not won an NCAA tournament game until nine days earlier, is.
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In one of the greatest upsets in NCAA tournament history, the team with nothing to lose somehow won.?
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If you're wondering what this has to do with Asperger's or Autism, I'll tell you:

* Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith is an economics professor at George Mason. Vernon Smith has Asperger's Syndrome.
* WrongPlanet.net founder Alexander Plank is a George Mason student and is caught up in the celebration

All WrongPlanet members are invited to submit their questions to GroovyDruid's new feature column, "Dear Aspie" for publishing. GroovyDruid, who brought you the "Secrets of..." series of articles, will select questions for reply in his new weekly column to be featured on the home page of WrongPlanet.net.

Submission is easy. Put your question in a Personal Message (PM), and send it to GroovyDruid or send an email to dearaspie@wrongplanet.net. Please be concise. Questions of a personal nature may be submitted anonymously, though printing a user name is preferred. "Dear Aspie" reserves the privilege of editing for spelling and clarity.

Thanks very much for your submissions!

Researchers at Stanford University have announced in the latest Stanford University Health Journal that a recent study conducted by the immunology department of the Center for clinical immunology has found evidence Asperger's Syndrome is actually contagious. "We have found DNA segments which seem to indicate that the syndrome has mutated into an easily contractible virus that resembles a strain of Marburg hemorrhagic fever. When Hans Asperger first discovered Asperger's Syndrome, he probably never imagined that the possibility of a mutation existed." According to Dr. Josh Strober, head of the Stanford's Center for clinical immunology, this is highly probable. "We've seen cases where adults with the syndrome have married and actually passed it on to their spouses." WrongPlanet.net will provide further information on what could possibly become an epidemic.