WrongPlanet.net is the best website for Asperger’s and Autism on the “net. It offers resources for people who have Asperger”s and other Autism Spectrum Disorders, and family members of those on the spectrum.
WrongPlanet.net is the best website for Asperger’s and Autism on the ‘net. It offers resources for people who have Asperger’s and other Autism Spectrum Disorders, and family members of those on the spectrum.
WrongPlanet was started in 2004 by Alex Plank (who continues to be an active member of the community). At the time of this writing, there are 29,791 registered members (with 649 currently browsing the forum!). According to Wikipedia, WrongPlanet has interviewed a number of prominent figures in the Autism community, including authors Temple Grandin, movie producer Joey Travolta, and America’s Next Top Model contestant Heather Kuzmich.
The most popular section of WrongPlanet (or WP as it is commonly referred to by members) is the Discussion forums. There are boards within the forum to discuss a wide array of topics, including General Autism Discussion, Parent’s Discussion, Love and Dating, Social Skills and Making Friends, Work and Finding a Job, and many more topics relevant to daily life.
WP also offers interest-specific boards for topics such as video games, television and movies, computers and technology, politics and religion, etc.
WP is a family-friendly site, but there is a special board for adult discussion that requires users to be over the age of 17 to view and participate in. This rule is enforced by asking users to enter their age. Anyone under 17 is blocked from viewing the Adult Autism Issues forum. Even though this forum is not accessible to younger users, there are also special boards specifically for kids and teens. In addition to the age-based boards, there is also a Women’s Discussion board specially for females on the spectrum.
The community overall is very supportive and friendly, though, as with any online forum, there are occasionally trolls. The moderators are generally quick to put a stop to trolling and to remove purposely offensive threads and posts.
Aside from the forum, there are also sections for news articles and blogs. The article section doesn’t appear to be updated frequently, but a number of users do update their on-site blogs regularly.
WP also has a bookstore page, which is powered by Amazon, and a CafePress shop. The bookstore offers a number of Non-Fiction about Asperger’s and Autism, including self-help books and memoirs, as well as fictional novels about characters on the spectrum.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:46 am
This will be very beneficial to many people. Thanks for sharing this!
October 15th, 2009 at 12:03 am
It is very beneficial, I’ve found it to be a great resource. Thanks for getting the word out!