New research on unreliability in sensory responses in autism may lead to core mechanisms, a biomarker for diagnosis and categorization for targetted treatments, and understanding of sensory sensitivity

The perception of sight, sound, and touch are less consistent in test subjects with autism than their typical peers according to new research from Carnegie Mellon researchers that is published in the October edition of the journal Neuron. This may be indicative of a more general neural difference that causes similar processing unreliability in the brains of those with autism, which in turn might explain the behavioral differences. The testing may also offer a biomarker for better diagnosis of autism and may also bring new insights into the sensory sensitivity aspects of autism.  Read more about it at sciencedaily.com here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919125336.htm

View a summary and highlights of the Neuron journal article at schiencedirect.com here:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627312007088

An Australian Magistrate told a 24 year old man that his Asperger syndrome was no excuse for breaking the law

A man from Canberra Australia who was recently convicted of attacking his girlfriend was sentenced to 13 months in jail inspite of his lawyer's claims he has Asperger syndrome and was coming off drugs at the time of the incident.  The Magistrate apparently did not view Asperger syndrome as a basis for excusing such behavior or a basis for giving a more lenient sentence.  Read more about it at abc.net.au here:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-24/monfries-jailed-for-13-months/4278060

Austrailian man with Asperger syndrome given lenient sentence due to mental condition and grim existence after pleading guilty to grooming underage girls online

A 23 year old Australian man with Asperger syndrome and manic depression pleaded guilty to grooming several underage girls he met on Facebook including offering to pay one to change clothes in front of a webcam, requesting nude photos, and asking about sexual experiences.  The judge who sentenced the man to a 15 months suspended sentence said she considered his mental issues and dysfunctional young life along with other factors when deciding on the lenient sentence.  The man explained that he discovered Facebook as a fantasy world to escape from an unpleasant life.  Among other unpleasant aspects of his life, he purportedly was forced by his family to sleep in a space with a dirt floor under the floorboards of their house.  Read more about it at heraldsun.com here:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/true-crime-scene/mentally-ill-facebook-sex-predator-given-lenient-sentence-after-judge-accepts-his-acts-were-an-excape-from-a-grim-reality/story-fnat7dhc-1226475890777
Also, read more about it at au.news.yahoo.com here:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/14875358/internet-groomer-avoids-jail/

Genetic testing to determine risk of developing autism spectrum disorder developed by researchers in Australia

Researchers in Australia have identified a number of genetic markers that either increase or decrease the likelihood of developing an autism spectrum disorder.  Utilizing that information the researchers suggest they are able to predict autism sectrum disorders with 70% accuracy.  The next step is to further evaluate the accuracy of the predictions in patients not yet otherwise diagnosed.  Read more about it at sciencedaily.com here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120912093827.htm
Read the research publications in the journal Molecular Psychiatry at nature.com here:
http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/mp2012126a.html

NHS patients in the UK with Asperger syndrome may soon be able to see a doctor remotely via Skype

Patients with ADHD and Asperger syndrome who are within the area of the Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS trust will be the first in the UK to be able to attend an appointment with a doctor remotely using Skype online video telephony.  The idea is to save time and money, offer appointments outside times when clinic rooms are available, and allow patients to be seen from a place they feel safe.  Read more about it at publicservice.co.uk here:
http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=20852

Study reported in a new publication tries to measure whether hacking and Asperger syndrome in fact go hand-in-hand

Research conducted on hacker conference attendees has been reported in a new publication containing a collection of studies related to hacking.  Survey participants were given the Autism-Spectrum Quotient questionnaire and two thirds scored in the intermediate range.  The researchers concluded that the results of the survey indicated hackers thinking and behavior are not much different from people working in computer science, mathematics, and natural science.  Read more about it at new.cnet.com here:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57507160-83/aspergers-study-asks-are-hackers-cognitively-different/
Find the study collection publication at igi-global.com here:
http://www.igi-global.com/book/corporate-hacking-technology-driven-crime/41753

Man age 18 with Asperger syndrome pleads guilty but mentally ill for killing his mother and receives 27 years in prison

A diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was apparently enough to get a judge in Greenville, South Carolina (US) to accept the manslaughter plea of 18 year old Joshua David McEachern based on a claim of "guilty but mentally ill" in the shooting death of McEachern's own mother on Mother's Day 2011.  McEachern also pleaded guilty to attempted murder for shooting his brother in the chest three times on the same occasion.  On September 5, 2012 McEachern was sentenced to 27 years in prison for the crimes.  Read more about it at waff.com here:
http://www.waff.com/story/19470853/teen-who-killed-mom-on-mothers-day-sentenced?clienttype=printable

UK man in his 20's with Asperger syndrome accused of sexually assaulting 4 girls aged 14 to 15 years old

According to allegations made at trial, Simon Dabbs, a UK man currently 28 years old picked up under-aged girls by offering them a lift home in his car from near their schools between 2005 and 2010.  He then allegedly offered the girls cannabis and coerced them into performing sex acts.  At trial it has been acknowledged that Dabbs has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, but the prosecution does not believe the diagnosis should serve as a defense. Read more about it at dailymail.co.uk here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2199078/Exmouth-driver-Simon-Dabbs-offered-underage-girls-lifts-home-raping-them.html?openGraphAuthor=%2Fhome%2Fsearch.html%3Fs%3D%26authornamef%3DMark%2BDuell

New research confirms what many of us already knew, children with autism spectrum disorders are more likely to be bullied

The lead author of a new study, Paul R. Sterzing, said, “The rate of bullying and victimization among these adolescents is alarmingly high.”  It seems that those on the higher functioning end of the spectrum who are placed in regular classrooms are at the highest risk for being singled out.  Data from the new study indicates that about 46% of students in the survey with autism were bullied as opposed to only 10% of students without autism.  Interestingly the rate of perpetration of bullying is about the same for those with and without autism. Read more about it at well.blogs.nytimes.com here:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/school-bullies-prey-on-children-with-autism/

See the abstract of the article in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine here:
http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1355390

UK woman with Asperger syndrome wins gold in 2012 Paralympics

Jessica-Jane Applegate, a teen age woman from the UK won a gold medal swimming in the S14 200m freestyle at the 2012 Paralympics in London and set a new Paralympic record in the process.  Applegate, who has Asperger syndrome, qualified under the Intellectually Disabled classification.  Read more about it at telegraph.co.uk here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/9516077/Jessica-Jane-Applegate-become-first-intellectually-disabled-Brit-to-win-gold-at-2012-Paralympic-Games.html

Responses of children with and without autism to odors may give a hint about the elusive nature of the emotions of those with autism

According to research recently reported in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, children with and without autism were exposed to some pleasant and unpleasant odors.  The children's responses in three forms were observed and recorded.  Those included their facial expressions, autonomic responsiveness, and their verbal descriptions of their emotional states.  The children with autism were not as likely to verbally describe an emotional reaction that coincided with their facial expression indicating this may be key in explaining observed differences in the expression of emotions by children with autism.  Read the abstract and the full article at springerlink.com here:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/x47l46662n91044j/