WrongPlanet.net

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Two teens with Asperger's Syndrome, Dan Grover of Vermont and

Plank of Virginia, have announced WrongPlanet.net, a

community website for other individuals with the syndrome.

Asperger's Syndrome is a high functioning form of autism. Individuals

who have it typically exhibit problems with social understanding and

reading body language, and a host of other symptoms, but usually have

very strong interests and obsessions. " This makes a lot of kids —

and

adults — who have it, " said cofounder Dan Grover, " feel like

they're

living on the wrong planet. "

The teens have launched their website, called WrongPlanet.net

(http://www.wrongplanet.net),

aiming to provide an online resource and

community for those who have the disorder. While a myriad of other

Asperger's resources exist, the teens say, the websites out there do

not fit the task.

" Most of the existing resources are aimed at helping parents and

educators, while others encourage a hatred towards the largely

neurotypical society. We need to have a forum where our goal is to try

to coexist better in this world, not isolate ourselves from it, " said

Plank, cofounder. " Really what the goal is, " Dan added, " is

to alleviate those with Asperger's from this pressure that they need

to conform to fit in. What is best is to learn how to use your

uniqueness to your advantage and find your place in the world. "

In addition to its forums and chatroom, the site has weekly polls, a

blog (or web journal) feature for all members, and a content system

that lets members submit their own poetry, stories, and articles.

There is also a news system, to keep the site updated with the latest

news that is likely to be useful to those with Asperger's.

The teens have been working hard over the past two weeks on the

website. and Dan had to communicate through instant message,

being many miles apart from one another. " It's been challenging at

times, " Grover reflected, " with and I working on the site's code

at the same time. We had to be careful not to step on each other's

toes! " The two, after having worked extensively on the site, its

programming, graphics, and content, now feel it's ready to announce to

the world.

The site is powered by PHP-Nuke, an open source online community

software program that utilizes PHP and the MySQL database system. " But

it's much more, " was quick to add, " than the standard PHP-nuke

package. Dan and I have added many features and refined what the

software comes with out-of-the-box. "

Later to join the efforts was another autistic teen, Bernard.

" The boys put a lot of work into the website, " she said, " and I spent

plenty of time helping them with ideas. I think that many people with

Asperger's and other autistic disorders will benefit from the

information and fun from the website. "

The teens, who are looking forward to meeting the new members of their

site, have one final message, " We hope that many aspies [people with

Asperger's] come to our site and it helps them cope better in the

world; we've spent a great deal of time and effort on making this

project close to perfect. "