Social Network Site for Autism Blossoms Beyond 10,000 Members

Wrong Planet ( http://WrongPlanet.net ), a relatively young online social network for individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism saw record growth during the first quarter of 2007, during which it accumulated more than 10,000 registered members before April 2nd. During the month of March, Wrong Planet received significantly more than 100,000 average page views per day.

The site was founded in June, 2004 by Alex Plank, who was only a sophomore in high school at the time. Plank saw the opportunity to create a unique place for people with Asperger’s to interact with one another in a positive and supportive environment. Since that time, Plank has continually developed and refined the Wrong Planet experience based on the needs and interactions of the website’s active community who play a large role in the success of the site.

Consequently, Wrong Planet has quickly grown to become the largest and most popular international online community for people with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Wrong Planet’s members are avid promoters of the site and spend hours online communicating with others like them.

According to the CDC,1 in 150 people have been diagnosed with Autism. A UK study found that more than half of those people are diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, despite the fact that almost 25% of people with Asperger’s Syndrome are undiagnosed, due to the fear of stigma and the fact that Asperger’s is the most recently recognized psychiatric condition.

Plank, currently a sophomore in George Mason University’s Film and Video Studies Program, attributes Wrong Planet’s recent growth-spurt to an increasing level of exposure of Autism in the media and points to a recent string of website mentions by popular television programs such as The View and by print newspapers such as The Washington Post. “When I started regularly receiving inquiries from news organizations like ABC and NPR this year, I began to get really excited because I noticed the site growing more quickly than it ever had since I started it more than two years ago.”

Katie Miller, a Baltimore art student whose work has been exhibited by the Smithsonian, describes the appeal of Wrong Planet as a unique place where she can interact with others who’ve gone through very similar experiences. “After finding Wrong Planet, I realized how many people there are who share my traits and eccentricities. Wrong Planet has helped me more than any other website or even book, because you can communicate with so many people on just about any topic. Like many others, I’ve gone through my life thinking I’m the only one who takes everything literally or gets physically sick just from the smell of potatoes. But here everyone is just as much of a misfit. In an age where 1 in 150 people have autism, Wrong Planet is a necessity.”

to find out more about Wrong Planet, or to schedule an interview, contact Alex Plank at 703-966-8504 or alex@wrongplanet.net