Autistic Teens Create Website for People with Asperger's Syndrome

Two teens with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, have created a website called WrongPlanet.net for others who have the disorder.

(PRWEB) July 1, 2004 -- Two teens with Asperger's Syndrome, Dan Grover of Vermont and Alexander 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 sometimes 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 Alexander 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 articles section contains articles written by Dan, Alex, and several others. Topics include coping skills, social skills, tips for sleeping, anxiety, bullying, and others specifically geared towards those with Asperger's.

The teens have been working hard over the past two weeks on the website. Alex and Dan had to communicate through instant message, being many miles apart from one another. "It's been challenging at times," Grover reflected, "with Alex 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," Alex 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, Ashley 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 of the website."

The website was launched last Friday, and since then it has already enjoyed an overwhelming amount of success. "In just three days since the launch," Grover said, "we've gotten over 50 members, and that figure is rising fast. People like the website a lot. We've never had that sort of success with any of our sites, both Alex and I."

The teens, who are looking forward to meeting more 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."

The text of this press release is placed into the public domain.