Odgren faces life in prison

From the Boston Globe, WHDH-TV

A jury has found 19-year-old John Odgren guilty of first degree murder in the fatal stabbing of a fellow student three years ago in their suburban Massachusetts high school, rejecting arguments that Odgren was legally insane at the time of the crime. He now faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole.

Odgren’s lawyers had argued that his behavior was affected by Asperger’s syndrome, anxiety, attention deficit disorder and mood disorders that include symptoms of bipolar disorder and depression. They said he had experienced a lifetime of bullying and harassment, causing him to lose touch with reality and act out violent fantasies. Prosecutors argued that Odgren was trying to act out the “perfect murder.”

Odgren was a student at the Great Opportunities Program at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, which was designed to integrate students with disabilities into the school. He brought a kitchen knife from home and attacked James F. Alenson, a freshman student whom he’d never met, in a bathroom at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in January of 2007.

As people with autism spectrum disorders take a more prominent place in society, Los Angeles Times reviewer Sonja Bolle finds a crop of books for kids and young adults that explore their world. These books can help, she says, by perhaps giving us all a better sense of the variety of human experience.

Among her selections:

• Al Capone Does My Shirts and Al Capone Shines My Shoes, by Gennifer Choldenko
• Mockingbird, by Kathryn Erskine
• Anything But Typical, by Nora Raleigh Baskin
• The London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd
• Marcelo in the Real World, by Francisco X. Stork

An excerpt:

All these novels are worth reading just because they have fascinating characters. Readers might like to enter their minds at least in fiction, and who knows? Perhaps they’d be inspired to take a new look at some of their classmates.

From the New York Times:

A parliamentary hold has been placed on the nomination of autism self-advocate Ari Ne’eman to the National Council on Disability amid a growing controversy about his views. President Obama’s seven other nominees to the council were confirmed by the Senate this month.

Ne’eman, 22, has a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome and is the founder of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network. He has said that autism is a naturally occurring form of “neurodiversity” that should be embraced and accommodated, not cured. Critics, including the co-founder of the advocacy group Autism Speaks, say Ne’eman’s view fails to represent individuals on the autism spectrum who lack basic communication and self-care skills.

Historically, the kind of genetic research supported by many parents of children with autism, Mr. Ne’eman has said, has been used to create prenatal tests that give parents the ability to detect a fetus affected by a particular condition, like Down syndrome, so that they can choose whether to terminate the pregnancy.

“We just think it makes more sense to orient research to addressing health problems or helping people communicate rather than creating a mouse model of autism or finding a new gene,” Mr. Ne’eman has said.

Earlier posts here.

(Photo from “No Myths” PSA)

By Alan Sepinwall, [Newark] Star-Ledger

NBC’s new drama “Parenthood,” premiering Tuesday night, features a family whose son is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. It’s among an increasing number of television shows that are trying to depict characters with the disorder, and is one of the first to acknowledge the diagnosis. An excerpt:

… the storyline – a personal one for one of the show’s creators – has the potential to be a breakthrough in how television depicts characters with a condition that’s increasing in prevalence, both nationwide and in New Jersey.

“I am always happy when I see characters on TV who are portrayed with Asperger’s, when it’s done correctly,” says Lori Shery, president and co-founder of ASPEN, a national Asperger support and education group based in Edison. “We need to change the cultural perception.”

See also:

Off-kilter characters: TV shows feature kids (and adults) with what looks like Asperger’s — Ellen Gray in the Philadelphia Daily News

In a wide-ranging interview with the Wall Street Journal, Temple Grandin shares some of the insights she’s gained as “easily the most famous autistic woman in the world.” Among the nuggets:

– Parents should not stop vaccinating kids because of autism fears, although they might space out the vaccinations.

– She’s not convinced that autism’s on the increase. “You know the geeks have always been here,” she says.

– She’s seen some “very big improvements”  with special diets, but she doesn’t think there’s a “magic cure” for the disorder.

– Kids with autism need 20 to 30 hours weekly of intense, one-on-one learning time, coupled with high expectations.

– People with autistic traits make important advancements, particularly in engineering, science and technology.

By Larry Abramson on National Public Radio:

A proposal by the American Psychiatric Association to include the diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome within the broader autism spectrum could have far-reaching effects, experts say, potentially changing the way families get special education services for their children.

Some educators say the change could make it easier for students with the disorder to qualify for special education services, while others worry that it could limit student access to services and make it harder for teachers to tailor services to students’ individual needs.

The proposal is available for public comment until April 20.

See also:

Asperger’s advocates debate proposed diagnosis change — CNN.  An excerpt:

“Autism tends to be defined as a deficit, and people with Asperger’s see themselves as having an advantage in life,” said Eileen Parker, 46, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who has Asperger’s. That is why the community is split over the … issue, she said.

Asperger’s officially placed inside autism spectrum — NPR

From the Newark Star-Ledger:

Ari Ne’eman, a 22-year-old man with Asperger’s syndrome, has been nominated by the president to sit on the National Council on Disability. Ne’eman’s appointment has been criticized by some autism advocates who say he is “not quite autistic enough.” He is the first person with autism to be nominated for a seat on the NCD and, if confirmed, would be the youngest person to serve on that board in at least two decades.

The founder of the Autism Self-Advocacy Network, Ne’eman has been aggressive in his criticism of some of the best-known autism advocacy groups, including Autism Speaks.

The exclusive focus on a cure, Ne’eman contends, amounts to medically engineering people like him out of existence. “We should be spending at least as much money on improving our quality of life instead of trying to get rid of us,” he said.