ASCEND Group :: The Asperger Syndrome Alliance for Greater Philadephia

In the News

Starting in November 2009, ASCEND's compilation of media highlights related to Asperger Syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders can be found in our enews section under "Past Issues."

Autism treatment: Science hijacked to support alternative therapies
Chicago Tribune, 11.23.09

From the article: "Researchers' fears about misuse of their work come true ...

"We were concerned that the study would raise a lot of controversy and be misused," Pardo said. "We were right." Over and over, doctors in the autism recovery movement have used the paper to justify experimental treatments aimed at reducing neuroinflammation. ” click to read >

Runaway spent 11 days in the subways
New York Times, 11.23.09

From the article: "Day after day, night after night, Francisco Hernandez Jr. rode the subway. He had a MetroCard, $10 in his pocket and a book bag on his lap. As the human tide flowed and ebbed around him, he sat impassively, a gangly 13-year-old boy in glasses and a red hoodie, speaking to no one." click here to read >

Parent training boosts medication effect for autism

Los Angeles Times, 11.20.09
From the article: “Life with a child who has a pervasive developmental isorder such as autism or Asperger's syndrome is often a storm of tantrums, irritability, impulsive behavior and obstinacy — a challenge that has child psychiatrists casting about for ways to help the stressed-out families of their patients, as well as the patients themselves.” click to read >

Letters to the Editor
New York Times, 11.09.09

Re.“The short life of a diagnosis” op-ed by Simon Baron-Cohen
Can be found here and here >

State autism census released
MyFoxPhilly.com, 11.19.09
From the website: “In 2005, an estimated 20,000 Pennsylvanians were living with autism. A new report predicts the number will grow by 5,000 by 2010. It also predicts a substantial rise among adults.” click to read >

Autism moms have stress similar to combat soldiers
Disability Scoop, 11.10.09
From the article: Mothers of adolescents and adults with autism experience chronic stress comparable to combat soldiers and struggle with frequent fatigue and work interruptions, new research finds. These moms also spend significantly more time caregiving than moms of those without disabilities.
Editor’s note: What about the dads? click to read >

Jenison students elect 'awesome and nice' autistic student as Homecoming Queen
Grand Rapids News, 10.26.09
From the article: “Jenison High School senior Rachel Slawkowski, 17, who is autistic, was crowned Homecoming Queen on October 9. "I didn't know so many kids were genuinely so kind and accepting," said Rachel's mom, Lana Flawkowski.” click to read >

The reform math problem

Philadelphia Inquirer, 11.09.09
From the "Opinon" page by Katharine Beals, author of "Raising a Left-Brain Child in a Right-Brain World: Strategies for Helping Bright, Quirky, Socially Awkward Children to Thrive at Home and at School": "Recent reports put the number of children with autism spectrum disorders at one in 100. Also in the news, following the latest national and state test results, is math education. What has escaped the media's attention is that these two topics are connected." click to read >

A powerful identity; A vanishing diagnosis
New York Times, 11.02.09
From the article: "...no sooner has Asperger consciousness awakened than the disorder seems headed for psychiatric obsolescence. Though it became an official part of the medical lexicon only in 1994, the experts who are revising psychiatry’s diagnostic manual have proposed to eliminate it from the new edition, due out in 2012." click to read >

Is autism genetic? Researchers hone in on an answer
CNN.com, 10.15.09
From the article: “Alisa Rock, whose 10-year-old son Connor has autism, says parents of autistic children often align themselves with one of two camps: There are those who believe that genes cause the disorder, and those firmly convinced that environmental factors are to blame…” click to read >

Undiagnosed Asperger's leads to 'life as an outsider'
NPR, Fresh Air, 10.13.09
This wonderful interview of Tim Page, a Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic, reveals how he learned he had Asperger Syndrome and how it has affected his life. Page memoir, Parallel Play: Growing Up with Undiagnosed Asperger’s, is newly released. click to read >

CDC survey finds higher incidence of autism: 1 in 100 8-year-olds in U.S. diagnosed
Chicago Tribune, 10.05.09
From the article: “About 1 in 100 8-year-old children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers who will be releasing details of their study later this year…” click to read >

Dragon boat racers up for the challenge
Philadelphia Inquirer, 10.04.09
From the article: “Some paddled to dispel the odds. In previous years, a blind team, a deaf team, and a homeless men's team took to the water. Yesterday, Lindner served as the drummer for a team with Asperger's syndrome, similar to autism. In its first heat, the Asperger's team finished fourth, in 2 minutes, 32.87 seconds…” click to read >

Clay Marzo: Liquid Cure
Outside Magazine, 09.09
Clay Marzo is one of the world's most gifted surfers. Clay Marzo has Asperger's syndrome' a form of high-functioning autism. And it is only when the 20-year-old steps off of dry land and immerses himself in the water that these two statements make perfect, miraculous sense. click to read >