Siblings, College, and Hacking
September 13, 2009 by Jeff Stimpson
Filed under Health
A new study on the siblings of children with autism is showing that signs associated with the behavioral disorder appear in babies in their first weeks of life. Preliminary research, at Australia-based Flinders University, studied the
Photo courtesy Eccentric Scholar (flickr.com)
behavior of infants who have an increased risk of developing autism from as young as 10 days, and preliminary results show children in an at-risk group (with an older sibling with an ASD, including Asperger’s) were developing different behavioral patterns from children from families with no history of autism. Autism affects up to 16 children per 10,000 in Australia. More is here.
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The University of Central Florida’s College Internship Program in Melbourne, Fla., is yet another campus nationwide helping students with ASDs prepare for college. Students live in two-bedroom apartments and attend classes at nearby Brevard Community College. They also take classes at the program in social skills, organizing their time and schedules. The program was created eight years ago by a psychologist after he himself was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.
The Program also has campuses in Massachusetts, Indiana, and California. Another, the College Living Experience, has five locations around the country. The 14 students in the Melbourne program now hail from around the country; 13 are male. “Typically,” says organizers, “when a student comes in, they’ve gone to college somewhere else and failed.” Costs range from $30,000 to $40,000 a year. Some scholarship money is available. More is here. The Orlando Sentinel has also compiled a list of colleges good for students with Asperger’s.
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Senior ministers of Parliament in the U.K. were slated to meet with the British home secretary late last week to ask for a blocking of the U.S. extradition of a 43-year-old London Asperger’s sufferer who faces trial over alledged hacking of U.S. military computers. Opponents to extradition are citing human rights concerns and a potential threat to the defendant’s health. The story is here.
