California law requiring health insurance to cover autism takes effect in July and is expected to increase costs less than one percent

A law requiring health insurance policies in California to pay for some services provided to patients with autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger syndrome, goes into effect on July 1, 2012.  According to one of the major employee benefits consulting and brokerage service companies in California the requirement will likely increase the cost of insurance plans between 0.2 and 0.8 percent.  California joins over half the states in the US that have passed laws requiring coverage for autism. Read more about it at marketwatch.com here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/burnham-benefits-expects-californias-autism-coverage-requirement-to-increase-medical-insurance-costs-2012-06-26

Electroencephalography (EEG) may be a means of diagnosing autism

Results of a study just published show that reduced connectivity between portions of the brains of children aged two and up with autism as measured by EEG might be a possible diagnostic tool for identifying autism.  Those with Asperger syndrome and high functioning autism were specifically excluded from this study.  Read more about it at marketwatch.com here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/computer-analysis-of-eeg-patterns-suggests-a-potential-diagnostic-test-for-autism-2012-06-25
Read the study publication on biomedcentral.com here:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/64/abstract

MIT research using zebrafish in investigation of the genetics of autism

Who would have guessed that zebrafish brains are similar enough to work as a model for human brains for certain types of research.  Research being conducted by Dr. Hazel Sive at MIT utilizes zebrafish with certain genes knocked out one at a time to begin to better understand how the equivalent genes in humans known to be associated with autism effect brain development.  Read more about it at psychcentral.com here:
http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/06/20/zebrafish-to-man-tracking-the-genetics-of-autism/40410.html

Seaside Therapeutics of Massachusetts and Swiss-based Roche combine efforts to produce autism treatment drugs

Two of the leading developers of drugs for the treatment of autism are partnering to combine efforts in the development and marketing of drugs aimed at relieving some behavioral problems associated with autism and fragile X syndrome.  At least one line of drugs based on mGluR5 antagonists expected to come out of the partnership between Roche and Seaside Therapeutics will likely end up competing with drugs under development by Novartis, which is said to be further along in developing a treatment that blocks the mGluR5 receptors in the brain thereby dampening the signals received (presumably making life a bit easier for the patients using it.) Read more about it at nytimes.com here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/health/roche-and-seaside-team-up-to-develop-autism-drugs.html

Ryan Cleary being charged under indictment in US for alleged LulzSec hacking

Despite indications that US prosecutors will not seek to extradite Ryan Cleary from the UK to the US in news articles last week, US prosecutors have obtained an indictment to prosecute him never the less.  The charges in the indictment suggest Cleary was more involve with LulzSec than the hacking group had previously alluded.  An article on InformationWeek.com indicated the following when reporting on these latest developments:
"Many researchers suspect that a disproportionate number of people who get arrested for hacking have Asperger's syndrome, although such a link hasn't been conclusively proven."
Read the rest of the article on informationweek.com here:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/management/240002206

Aspie and alleged LulzSec hacker Ryan Cleary to be tried in UK, not US

Accused hacker Ryan Cleary will not likely be extradited as US prosecutors have indicated they would be satisfied if he is prosecuted in the UK for his alleged involvement in attacks on US targets.  Cleary's situation may have some influence on the similarly situated Gary McKinnon who has been avoiding extradition for prosecution in the US for a decade.  Read more about it on Telegraph.co.uk here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/9335023/Alleged-hacker-Ryan-Cleary-to-be-tried-in-UK-not-US.html
More about Cleary and McKinnon on the notorios aspies page

Specialisterne Foundation announcing implementation of jobs program for Aspies in Delaware

Denmark-based nonprofit organization Specialisterne Foundation has implemented programs in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, Austria, and Switzerland to help create jobs for people diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and they are setting up operations in Delaware that will have a ribbon cutting marking its beginning on June 15, 2012.  Read more at CommunityPub.com here:
http://www.communitypub.com/news/x345281077/Specialisterne-Foundation-to-announce-opportunities-for-residents-with-high-functioning-autism
Specialisterne Foundation website

Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegian who admits to killing 77 is believed to have Asperger syndrome

In criminal trial proceedings two sets of experts have come to two different conclusions about Anders Behring Breivik's mental condition.  One group apparently believes him to be psychotic and the other does not believe he is paranoid schizophrenic.  Instead the one group of experts purports that Breivik has Asperger syndrome, Tourette syndrome, narcissistic personality disorder, and apparently other possible issues.  Breivik has admitted to killing 77 people in July of 2011 in Oslo and the nearby island of Utoeya in Norway.  According to the Daily Mail article "Asperger's support groups in Norway have attacked previous attempts to attribute Breivik's massacre to the condition, arguing that there is no evidence that Asperger's is associated with increased criminality or violence. "  Read more about it at DailyMail.co.uk here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156530/Anders-Behring-Breivik-rare-forms-Aspergers-Tourette-s-syndromes-says-Norways-leading-psychiatrist.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Autism may be linked to folic acid (vitamin B9) in mothers' prenatal diet

The results of a recent study that surveyed the mothers of children in California indicates there may be a link between lower intake of folic acid during pregnancy and autism.  Read more about it at Reuters.com here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/06/us-less-folic-acid-idUSBRE85519G20120606

Pilot drug trial of NAC indicates it may reduce irritability in children with autism

Preliminary research at Stanford University and the Cleveland Clinic may indicate that a drug known as NAC, which is currently used to treat acetaminophen overdose, may help reduce irritability in children with autism.  There may be some hope that it could help other symptoms as well.  Read more of the story on  PsychCentral.com here:
http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/06/04/pilot-study-suggests-drug-may-reduce-irritability-in-autism/39644.html

Brain scans show differences in fiber tracts in brains of people with autism

In people with autism the connections between the front and back of the brain may not allow for the synchrony that occurs in more typical brains.  Mental exercises might improve connections in the brains of those with autism.  For the full story have a read or a listen on NPR.org here:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/06/04/154175007/whats-different-about-the-brains-of-people-with-autism

University of Alabama program for supporting students on the spectrum

The University of Alabama has a program for providing assistance to its students on the spectrum.  It has grown from supporting one student when the program started in 2006 to currently supporting twelve utilizing the help of graduate students in psychology.  Read more here at newswise.com:
http://www.newswise.com/articles/college-transition-program-for-students-with-autism-grows