Archive for the ‘Autism’ Category

This is a Recent Article about a hacker who was busted for hacking into the US Military computers in the wake of 9/11 to tell them their security was crap. He called himself “Solo”.

When he was busted, part of Solo’s defense was that he was diagnosed with Asperger’s, and therefore in some way not responsible for his actions. He’s not the first hacker to make this claim. “The Geek Defense”, as they refer to it, seems to be a growing excuse for hackers.

On the one hand it seems like it may well be that people with Aspergers are less responsible for what they do than others, since sometimes it’s harder for them to censor their words and even actions. I know we’ve had a few moments I’d rather not talk about that may or may not have occurred had Zev not had Aspergers.

On the other hand, we would hate to see Aspergers being used to excuse obviously criminal behavior. There’s a big difference between not knowing when to censor yourself socially and not knowing when you’re breaking the law.

Where do you come down on this argument? Let us know.

Z & J

This is an amazing piece about Clay Marzo, a surfer with Asperger Syndrome.

As we’ve mentioned before, one of the things that’s been most apparent to Zev and I as we’ve met people on the spectrum – both high-functioning and low – is that many of them tend to have THAT THING – be it sports, bugs, chemistry, game shows, or in this case surfing – that they love and focus all of their ambitions on to an extent us “neuro-normals” can only dream of.

Clay shows that when someone on the spectrum does hone in on THAT THING and dedicate themselves to it, they’re capable of great things.

Let us know what you think of this – and please, if you know of more videos like this, or examples of people on the spectrum with unique talents… share it with us.

Thanks Tara for showing us this one.

Z & J

This is a poignant obituary for Jameson Lindskog, 23, who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan. Jameson was a medic who had Asperger’s, and was known for telling it like it is.

The end of the article is heartbreaking:

“Even after he had been shot, Lindskog calmly instructed another soldier who came to his side on how to administer first aid to him,” the soldier would later tell Lindskog’s mother.

When he was done, Lindskog told him: “That’s it. That’s all you can do for me.”

Then he added, “Just hold my hand.”“

People on the spectrum can be just as brave as the rest of us.

This is a pretty odd story, if not a little twisted. A child beauty pageant is taking heat for awarding an autistic girl “Best Personality” – from the mother of the girl.

Child beauty pageants are controversial to begin with, so it really seems like Leonie Myles, the mother of Tahnee, was asking for trouble getting Tahnee involved in something like that… particularly considering the nature of Autism and the fragility that can sometimes come with it as far as self-image is concerned.

Ultimately this may not be that big of a deal, but it’s still an interesting situation… and even though it’s in Australia, it feels like a very American issue.

Here’s the link – let us know what you think.

This is a story from a few years back, but it’s one of our favorites…

Jason “J-Mac” McElwain, an autistic basketball player, got into a high school game in the 4th Quarter and tied a school record with SIX 3-POINTERS IN FOUR MINUTES. An incredible feat for anyone, let alone someone with autism.

We had the pleasure of meeting Jason when we went on CBS’ The Talk a few months ago. Great guy. Zev has a pretty nasty 3-Point stroke also – he’s been known to get on hot streaks of his own in our Men’s Rec League hoops games – so we asked if they could find us a hoop on the lot to conduct a little shoot-out… but there was no hoop to be found. The showdown had to wait.

But whenever J-Mac’s ready, Zev’s ready.

This is out-of-control, off-the-charts amazingness that shows what incredible achievements people on the spectrum are capable of…

‘BRAIN MAN’ Daniel Tammet – A high-functioning autistic savant –  recited a series of 22,514 numbers over a five hour period after seeing them once. His memory skills include learning to speak Icelandic in one week. Click on Brain Man video link to watch a great piece about him…

Brain Man video

One of the things we want to do here on this site is shine a spotlight on the talents of kids – and adults – on the Autism Spectrum.

Thanks to the Race, we’ve had the privilege of meeting a lot of great people and going to a lot of great Autism-related events, and one of the things we’ve learned is that kids on the spectrum generally have something they LOVE above all else, and they devote an incredible amount of time and passion to THAT THING.

For Zev it was two things really – The Amazing Race, and The Lakers… but we’ve met kids who love game shows, bugs, chemistry, sports, music, geography… the list goes on.

This is an article about Jacob, a boy genius who has Autism and is “so far advanced in his Indiana university studies that professors are lining him up for a PHD research role.”

It’s an incredible story, and we want to hear more like it. Please share other stories like this with us that you may know of… what is YOUR child on the Spectrum into? What is THAT THING, and what are they doing to pursue it?

We really want to know — please share your experiences with us.

We want this to be a place that highlights the gifts that Autism gives, rather than focusing on the negatives.

Much Love,

Z & J

This is a pretty amazing story about an autistic man who can draw an entire city from memory after a brief helicopter flight over it.

This looks like a really interesting doc about Autism… click through for the trailer.

A Mother\’s Courage – Talking Back To Austism

Narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet and directed by Academy Award nominee Fridrik Thor FridrikssonTHE SUNSHINE BOY (aka A Mother’s Courage) follows Margret as she sets out to meet the world’s leading experts on  autism in the US and Europe. With a poet’s delicate touch Fridriksson, explores  the subject throughout the entire spectrum of autism, while not losing sight of Margret, an Icelandic mother, and her mission to understand her autistic 10 year old son Keli as they travel to the U.S. to research new therapies in the hopes of unlocking the autistic mind.