Asperger’s Defense; ASD in Tenn.

Slate’s Erica Westly takes an interesting look at the increasing incidence of Asperger’s as a legal defense, citing the recent headline case of British computer whiz Gary McKinnon, who hacked into almost 100 U.S. government and NASA computers after becoming obsessed with the United States covering up UFO contact. “Criminal defendants in the United States have been using similar tactics with varying degrees of success in recent years,” Westly writes. “In fact, it’s not all that rare for criminal defendants with Asperger’s to argue for leniency in cases of computer fraud, sexual misconduct, and murder. Three years ago, the defense even made its way into an episode of ‘Boston Legal.’”

Photo/D Sharon Pruitt (Pink Sherbet Photography, flickr.com)

Elsewhere in the U.K., a 20-year-old Wales man who’s admitted to encouraging a 12-year-old boy with Asperger’s to engage in sexual activity on a cam has been allowed to continue using the Internet for work. The boy’s mother has lashed out at the decision.

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The first in a series of reports examining public services for ASD infants, children and youth in Tennessee, by the Comptroller of the Treasury’s Offices of Research and Education Accountability (OREA), is out: “Autism in Tennessee: Part 1 – An Introduction to Issues and Data Collection Methods,” provides an overview of autism as a disability, a review of associated laws, and includes autism data collection and prevalence estimates. Subsequent reports to be released in the series will review public education and health care services as they relate to autism in Tennessee.

The number of children and youth receiving autism-related special education services in Tennessee more than tripled from approximately 1,293 to 4,019 between 2001 and 2007. The report also points out that it is difficult to obtain accurate, reliable information on who receives autism-related services.

Tennessee officials say it might be good to go the route of other states, most recently New Jersey, to create autism registries.