From Disability Scoop: "The incident began when the teacher called the boy's mom because he didn't complete an assignment for school. When he called his mom to say he was on his way home, she told him that she'd heard from the school and wanted to have a serious talk. But instead of going home, Hernandez removed the battery from his cell phone and boarded a subway car." (11/25/09)
From Disability Scoop: "Cassandra Leuthold is one of the best college bowlers in the country and she says having Asperger%u2019s syndrome is one of the reasons why." (11/19/09)
From Disability News: "An editorial in the [Toronto] Globe and Mail says removing the term 'Asperger's' from the [DSM] would cause a 'lamentable' loss of identity for many. The editorial says Asperger's syndrome, with its combination of intelligence and social awkwardness, has received more attention in recent years as it has become popularized in books, television, and movies." (11/11/09)
From Disability News: "Autism expert Simon Baron-Cohen writes in the New York Times that experts should move cautiously on the proposal to remove Asperger's syndrome from the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.' He says such a move could have wide-reaching consequences for people and their families, as well as for insurers." (11/11/09)
Take a poll on the About.com Autism site. (11/9/09)
From Disability News: "Canadian parents of children with Asperger's syndrome are resisting a proposal by scientists to remove the Asperger's label from psychiatry's diagnostic manual. The parents say such an action would cause confusion and potentially impede treatment for people with the disorder. Scientists say the change is needed for the sake of clarity." (11/5/09)
From Autisable: "Okay, let's make this perfectly clear. If I could just TALK my asperger son out of his obsessive behavior, I would be touring the world, making millions of dollars talking other kids out of their syndrome. What don't educated people realize about this?" (11/5/09)
From NY Times: "If these experts have their way, Asperger's syndrome and another mild form of autism, PDD-NOS, will be folded into a single broad diagnosis, autism spectrum disorder -- a category that encompasses autism's entire range, or spectrum, from high-functioning to profoundly disabling." (11/4/09)
From Disability Scoop: "Experts working on the latest version of psychiatry's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, expected in 2012, are leaning toward eliminating Asperger's syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. The reason: they say these diagnoses are too vague." (11/3/09)
From Disability News: "Tim Page, author of 'Parallel Play: Growing Up with Undiagnosed Asperger's' and a Pulitzer Prize winning music critic, answers readers' questions about Asperger's syndrome and its effect on his life." (11/2/09)
From Slate: "Do criminals with Asperger's syndrome deserve special treatment?" (10/26/09)
From the Sacramento Bee: "The student killed at his Sac State dormitory room Wednesday afternoon was an avid history buff, a quiet, religious man who had come to the school in August in hopes of becoming a history teacher or professor. ... He also had Asperger syndrome, a form of autism that 'sometimes made him a target for bullies.'" (10/23/09)
From Disability News: "Music critic Tim Page didn't find out that he had Asperger's syndrome until he was 45, three years after winning the Pulitzer Prize. He writes in his new memoir,'Parallel Play: Life As An Outsider,' that the diagnosis helped him to accept parts of his nature that were 'not very changeable.'" (10/17/09)
From the LA Times: "Team Asperger" is foiled by a lost passport. (10/12/09)
From Disability Scoop: "A runaway teen with Asperger's syndrome was discovered over the weekend 2,000 miles away from home after authorities used GPS tracking to locate the boy through his cell phone." (10/6/09)
Disability Scoop interviews Zev Glassenberg, "the first person with Asperger's syndrome to compete on the CBS reality show The Amazing Race." (9/22/09)
Last season, it was Margie and Luke carrying the "people with special needs can do anything banner." This season, it's Zev and Justin. (9/10/09)
From Spectrum Siblings: "The notion that there are people who don't process their thoughts in this manner is actually a bit strange to think about. With all the media we take in in our lives, have they seen no one who can capture the thoughts of the moment better than they?" (9/9/09)
From AutismLearningFelt: "Bones is a highly intelligent woman that has difficulty interacting socially with her co-workers, is a very literal thinker, and has problems displaying emotions." (8/18/09)
From Autisable: "So, now we Asperger people have the misfortune of finding people diagnosing themselves, and turning Asperger's Syndrome to an emo disorder? WHAT?" (8/17/09)
From Disability Scoop: "Scott James is so shy that he didn't leave his house for seven years, but an astounding singer, he will be one of 50 contestants on the British show X Factor, which is similar to American Idol." (8/6/09)
From Autisable: An application is in the works that would provide social stories on an iPhone or iPod Touch.
From Disability news: Surfing phenom Clay Marzo may be one of the most gifted athletes in his sport. Recently diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, the 20-year-old Marzo has earned national surfing titles and international admiration ... but he struggles with basic social interactions, and has difficulty with the demands that come with being an elite pro athlete. (8/5/09)
From Disability Scoop: "The films have little in common besides a character with the autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, but with debuts this summer and next year, the collective presence of three films reflects the increasing public awareness of autism." (8/5/09)
From Disability News: "'We hope this movie becomes the Rain Man of Asperger's,' said Dania Jekel, executive director of the Asperger's Association of New England. 'When people talk about autism they say, "Oh, you mean like Rain Man?" So maybe when people talk about Asperger's they'll say, "Oh, you mean like Adam?"'" (7/30/09)
From Disability News: "Andrew O'Hehir writes in Salon that films like the newly released 'Adam' are dull because they 'take their educational function so seriously, that they don't have any time or energy left to be, you know, movies.'" (7/30/09)
From Entertainment Weekly: "The title character of Max Mayer's Adam is a 29-year-old electronics engineer with Asperger's syndrome -- and yes, he is one of those charming, saintly, afflicted movie misfit child-men." (7/30/09)
From Disability News: "Rose Byrne and Hugh Dancy in 'Adam,' Fox Searchlight photoThe newly released film 'Adam,' starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne, is the tale of a young man with Asperger's whose life is changed when a beautiful woman moves into his New York apartment building." (7/30/09)
From Disability News: "Psychologist Sue Pederson says she and her colleagues at the Fraser Child & Family Center in Minneapolis may have found a new way to reach students with Asperger’s: iPods that cue them on navigating in society." (7/29/09)
From Disability News: "In 'Adam,' Hugh Dancy plays a man on the autism spectrum whose difficulties with social interactions get in the way of his hopes for a romance with a neighbor, played by Rose Byrne." (7/28/09)
From Disability Scoop: "Those with Asperger's syndrome commonly struggle to understand what others are thinking or feeling, but a new study indicates that they can often correctly identify another person's state of mind if prompted." (7/20/09)
From Winter Ramblings: "Fox Searchlight Pictures has produced the movie ADAM, a love story about the challenges of falling in love for a young man with Asperger's sydrome. The movie, which will have limited theater release beginning July 29th, was written and directed by Max Mayer." (7/14/09)
From Ouch! "Adam is a quirky romantic comedy starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne. Adam is a handsome but intriguing young man with Asperger's who has led a sheltered life - but all that changes when he meets his new neighbour, Beth, a beautiful and brainy writer damaged from a past relationship." (6/15/09)
From Spectrum Siblings: "Pica is still an issue here at my house. Carl has eaten a good percentage of his baseball card collection, any stray wrappers he finds around the house, the velcro off of both our watches. He really likes to chew."
From Easter Seals and Autism: "Many individuals with Asperger Syndrome report that high school years are particularly challenging. Self advocacy is especially important as these children grow into adulthood." (5/11/09)
From Sun Sentinel: "Kenton Weaver drove from his Boca Raton area home to the airport in Fort Lauderdale, parked and locked the SUV in the garage and took a flight to California. The problems: He's 13, he took his dad's Ford Explorer without permission and he ran away from home. ... The teen has a heart condition and Asperger's syndrome." (5/4/09)
From 5 Minutes for Special Needs: "My son, Spiff, is 14 and is an Aspergian teenager in middle school. I thought it would be a great way to get to know him better if I kept him up past his bedtime (non-medicated, and on a school night, no less!) and volleyed random questions at him." (4/9/09)
From Suite 101: "Prepare the child on the autism spectrum for the Easter holiday schedule. Visual aids ease the adjustment to a different schedule." (4/3/09)
From Autism - Change.org: "The chance of an autistic person changing world paradigms is, I would guess, just as slim as the chance of a non-autistic person changing world paradigms. That doesn't mean we can't all dream of being Einstein (or in my case, Turing), but it's not going to happen just by virtue of having an autistic brain." (2/20/09)
From Disability Scoop: "The author of On the Origin of Species who pioneered the theory of evolution would turn 200-years-old this month. And now, Professor Michael Fitzgerald at Trinity College in Ireland believes Darwin's tendency toward solitude and his obsessions with insects, shells, chemistry and gadgets indicate that the man had Asperger's." (2/19/09)
From The Karianna Spectrum: "Are people unfamiliar with Asperger's Syndrome now going to believe that such people are not only heartless, but actually devious and take pleasure in other people's emotional pain?" (12/6/08)
From AutismVox: "Florida teacher Wendy Portillo -- who allowed her kindergarten class to vote on whether or not their classmate Alex Barton could remain in class -- has been suspended without pay for a year, according to the Naples News." (11/19/08)
From The Karianna Spectrum: "Last week I mentioned my hope that Mary McDonnell's portrayal of Asperger's on Grey's Anatomy would be dignified, and not stereotypical. Alas, I am disappointed." (11/14/08)
From Fearless Females, an item on Asperger syndrome and "Grey's Anatomy: "Personally, I thought she overplayed the part. I know a couple of adults who have AS and they are not as 'extreme' as this actor played." (11/15/08)
From About.com Autism: "When your child has Asperger syndrome or High Functioning Autism, you walk a fine line. Sometimes, under some circumstances, your child is perfectly capable of behaving typically. Other times, not so much. And it's not always easy to predict when things will suddenly become overwhelming." (11/14/08)
For more on the documentary about a young man with Asperger syndrome, read the
review from the About.com guide to Documentaries. (10/27/08)
From Disability News: "Bram Cohen, founder and former CEO of BitTorrent technology, diagnosed his own Asperger's syndrome. He says his disability made running a company hard. Experts say more people like Cohen will arrive in the workplace in the years ahead, and their presence will bring momentous changes." (10/18/08)
From Suite 101: Getting the child with Asperger syndrome to cooperate. (9/1/08)
Wired reports that a newly obtained diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome may be used in McKinnon's defense against charges of crashing computers at the Pentagon and NASA. (8/29/08)
From the blog Fearless Females: "Hey, who wants to raise a boring, typical kid anyway?" (8/23/08)
Introducing a new book to explain AS to young kids. (8/12/08)
What would you do if this was your life at school? (8/7/08)
About.com Autism Guide Lisa Jo Rudy seeks reader input on handilng oversized reactions in teens with AS. (7/28/08)
I've been seeing headlines about the Hans Reiser case, but didn't realize that it involved Asperger syndrome as a defense for murder until I read this Autism Vox post. Or that they were using Asperger's as shorthand for "a total nut-job." (7/9/08)
In November, an 8-year-old from Washington state with Asperger syndrome became probably the youngest person ever to climb the 20,300-foot Island Peak in the Himalayas. (1/3/06)
Actress Helena Bonham Carter sees the signs. (11/17/05)
In a tragic story from the U.K., an elderly couple attempted suicide out of despair over their inability to care for their 33-year-old daughter, who has Asperger syndrome. (11/10/04)
